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U.S. Spirits Exports Tumble 9% in Q2, With Canada Down 85%

The industry urges zero-for-zero tariff deals to restore predictable access to foreign shelves.

FILE - Bottles of Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, an American-made spirit produced in Kentucky, are displayed for sale on a supermarket liquor shelf, alongside other imported alcoholic beverages, on April 12, 2025, in Shenzhen, China. (Photo by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
FILE - Barrels of bourbon are stacked in a barrel house at the Jim Beam Distillery on February 17, 2020, in Clermont, Kentucky. (Photo by Bryan Woolston/Getty Images)
FILE - A sign is placed in front of the American whiskey section at a B.C. liquor store after top-selling American-made products have been removed from shelves in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - Barrels of spirits are seen at the Baltimore Spirits Company distillery, Feb. 8, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, file)

Overview

  • An industry report from DISCUS shows overall U.S. spirits exports fell 9% in the second quarter of 2025 after a strong 2024.
  • Canada posted the sharpest decline as exports dropped about 85% to below $10 million, with most provinces still keeping U.S. spirits off shelves despite Ottawa lifting its retaliatory tariff in September.
  • Key markets also weakened, with exports to the European Union down 12%, the United Kingdom down 29% and Japan down 23%.
  • DISCUS warns that overseas consumers are increasingly choosing local or non-U.S. brands, while U.S. producers face slowing domestic sales and record-high whiskey inventories.
  • The downturn is hitting producers unevenly, as Brown-Forman reported a nearly 60% sales decline in Canada and small distillers such as Kentucky’s Tom Bard report lost Canadian distribution and unfilled production jobs.