LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With a new distillery set to open soon, the makers of Brough Brothers bourbon in Kentucky were ready to put their business plan into action. They were looking to ramp up whiskey production to break into lucrative new markets in Canada and Europe.
Now the on-again, off-again threat of tariffs has disrupted those plans. Efforts by the Black-owned distiller to gain a foothold in Canada are on hold, as are plans to break into Germany and France, said Brough Brothers Distillery CEO Victor Yarbrough. That's because the iconic American spirit's widening global appeal is caught in the crossfire of trade conflicts instigated by President Donald Trump.
"It's extremely frustrating," said Yarbrough, who started the Louisville distilling company with his brothers, Bryson and Chris. "We are collateral damage." Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned 50% tariff on American whiskey April 1 — retaliation for Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs on the EU.
Trump has separate tariff plans on Canada, Mexico and China. People are also reading..
. For distillers looking to sell to consumers of all political stripes, talking politics can be as distasteful as discussing Prohibition. But along with the turmoil and uncertainty over tariffs, bourbon makers and other U.
S. firms trying to do business in Canada are confronting public relations challenges still reverberating from the president's .
