The man standing before one of Washington's most consequential trade panels wasn't there to talk politics. He was there to talk jobs, grain, and the survival of an industry that runs deeper into the American economy than most people realize.
Chris Swonger, President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States — better known as DISCUS — testified before the Section 301 Committee, an interagency body that operates under the Office of the United States Trade Representative. His message was direct: keep distilled spirits out of the tariff crossfire, or risk serious damage to American workers, American farmers, and the bars and restaurants that serve communities across the country.
A $250 Billion Industry Under Pressure
Most Americans don't think of whiskey as an economic pillar. But the numbers Swonger laid out tell a different story.
The U.S. spirits industry generates more than $250 billion in economic activity. It supports approximately 1.7 million American jobs. It sources more than 2.7 billion pounds of grain from domestic farmers every single year. That's not a niche market — that's a significant chunk of the American economy, stretching from Kentucky distilleries to Midwest cornfields to neighborhood steakhouses.
"America's spirits industry is a powerful economic engine," Swonger said in his testimony. "But the U.S. spirits and hospitality sectors are facing significant economic headwinds. A slowdown in the spirits market, combined with ongoing trade frictions, has started to result in year-over-year job losses at U.S. distilleries."
Those aren't abstract warnings. The statistics Swonger shared with the committee are concrete and recent. Domestic spirits sales dropped 2.2% in 2025 — the first decline in decades. Exports fell nearly 4%. And between September 2024 and September 2025, U.S. distilleries shed roughly 1,000 jobs, a 3.5% reduction in their workforce. For an industry that prides itself on craft, tradition, and local economic impact, that's a gut punch.
Tariffs Hit Restaurants Where It Hurts
The ripple effect doesn't stop at the distillery gate. Swonger made clear that the hospitality sector — restaurants, bars, and retailers — sits squarely in the line of fire when spirits get caught up in trade disputes.
Alcohol sales represent 21% of total revenue for full-service restaurants. That's not a rounding error. That's the number that determines whether a restaurant stays open or locks its doors. When tariffs drive up the cost of imported spirits and retaliatory measures close off export markets, the pain travels fast through the supply chain and lands on the balance sheets of local businesses.
"In this environment, tariffs on imported spirits place additional strain on the sector," Swonger testified. "Alcohol sales are particularly consequential for restaurant profitability, accounting for 21% of the total revenue for full-service restaurants. This underscores the outsized role these products play in sustaining the broader hospitality sector."
Bars and restaurants are already dealing with rising costs and a stubborn wave of closures that accelerated after the pandemic years. Adding tariff pressure to that equation is the kind of thing that pushes marginal businesses over the edge.
The Retaliation Problem: A Track Record That Speaks for Itself
One of the most compelling parts of Swonger's testimony wasn't about what might happen — it was about what already happened.
When the European Union slapped retaliatory tariffs on American whiskey between 2018 and 2021, U.S. exports to those markets dropped 20%. That's a significant hit. But what happened next is just as instructive: when those tariffs were suspended, exports rebounded 60%. The market came back. The lesson is clear — trade access matters enormously for American distillers, and losing it comes with a real price tag.
Canada provided a more recent and more dramatic example. Retaliatory bans from Canada led to a staggering 63% decline in U.S. spirits exports to that market in 2025 alone. That's not a small disruption. That's the kind of collapse that empties order books, cuts hours, and ultimately eliminates jobs.
And it doesn't even take an actual tariff to do damage. Swonger noted that the mere threat of retaliatory tariffs from the European Union — with planned measures set to expire in August 2026 — had already contributed to a 3% decline in U.S. spirits exports to the EU.
"Even the threat of tariffs creates uncertainty, negatively impacting exports," Swonger said.
What Makes Spirits Different from Other Goods
Trade policy debates often treat products as interchangeable — a widget is a widget. But Swonger pushed back on that logic when it comes to spirits, and for good reason.
The global spirits marketplace operates on geography and tradition in ways that most industries don't. Scotch Whisky can only come from Scotland. Cognac can only come from a specific region of France. Irish Whiskey has its own protected designation. Tequila is rooted in Mexico. These aren't marketing distinctions — they're legally protected geographic indicators that reflect centuries of craft and regional identity.
The flip side of that equation is that the United States has fought hard — and successfully — to get Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey recognized as distinctly American products in 45 countries around the world. That recognition protects quality, guards against imitation, and builds the kind of consumer trust that takes generations to establish. It's the reason a bottle of Kentucky straight bourbon carries weight in Tokyo or London.
Getting into a tariff war that triggers retaliation puts all of that goodwill at risk.
Swonger's Message to Washington
To his credit, Swonger didn't walk into the committee room swinging. He opened by expressing genuine support for President Trump's goal of increasing U.S. manufacturing and exports — two objectives that the spirits industry shares entirely.
He also acknowledged real progress on that front. The administration has worked to reduce tariffs on U.S. spirits in several markets, including India, Argentina, Cambodia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Switzerland, and Taiwan. And Swonger specifically applauded Trump's recent decision to lift the 10% tariff on whiskeys from the United Kingdom, including Scotch Whisky — a move he described as a win for American hospitality businesses.
But the broader ask was clear: don't put new tariffs on imported spirits, protect access to open markets like the EU and UK, move quickly to implement recently secured trade agreements, and pursue new deals in priority export markets.
"These steps will support the administration's goals of increasing U.S. exports and creating good-paying American jobs across the hospitality sector," Swonger said.
Why This Matters Beyond the Bar
It's easy to frame a tariff fight over whiskey as a niche industry squabble. But what Swonger's testimony lays out is a systemic issue that touches farmers, factory workers, restaurant owners, distributors, and retail employees across the country.
The spirits industry isn't asking for special treatment. It's asking for a level playing field — one where American distillers can compete globally without being used as collateral damage in broader trade disputes. The argument isn't that free trade has no costs. It's that tariffs on spirits, in particular, have a well-documented history of backfiring on the very American workers and businesses they're supposed to help.
The next time someone orders a pour of bourbon at a restaurant, they probably aren't thinking about Section 301 hearings or export statistics. But those hearings have a direct connection to whether that restaurant stays open, whether the distillery that made that bottle keeps its workforce, and whether the farmers who grew the grain get to sell another crop.
That's the real stakes of the fight playing out in Washington right now — and it's one that the spirits industry is determined not to lose quietly.
