Irish alcohol producers are preparing flexible strategies to counter potentially devastating tariffs from the United States, with many drawing on lessons learned during Brexit to maintain market access.
Industry leaders are exploring multiple approaches, including pivoting to Asian markets and licensing recipes to US-based brewers, while simultaneously urging government intervention in EU trade negotiations.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called on the European Union to shift focus away from imposing countermeasures on alcohol in response to Donald Trump’s global tariffs. The government is reportedly lobbying the EU to moderate its expected response to avoid negative impacts on Ireland’s valuable alcohol and food industries.
There are concerns that if the EU imposes additional duties on American whiskeys, as it did in 2018, the White House might retaliate with severe tariffs on Irish whiskey, beer, and spirit distillers.
The stakes are particularly high for Irish whiskey, which must be entirely produced in Ireland to maintain its designation. According to Statista, Jameson Irish Whiskey alone recorded volume sales of approximately 3.9 million nine-liter cases in the US in 2023, part of a sector that saw 13% growth in the American market last year.
The Irish Whiskey Association has warned that new tariffs could bring “devastating impacts” to the entire Irish drinks sector operating in the US. The American market represents 41% of Irish alcohol exports annually, valued at an estimated €865 million.
Bob Coggins, co-founder of Sligo-based independent brewery The White Hag, believes tariffs are inevitable but that businesses will adapt more quickly than government responses. “This is the same thing as Brexit,” Coggins said. “The Irish government responded better to Brexit – better than Britain did itself. That helped us grow our export markets in other territories and negate any impacts.”
Many producers, particularly in the spirits industry, are looking eastward to markets in Asia and Oceania. Clonakilty Distilleries in Cork announced plans to pivot to China, Japan, and South Korea should exporting costs and tariffs significantly impact their whiskey sales.
The White Hag, which resumed trading in the US in January, has developed an innovative strategy by licensing their recipes to commercial brewers based in America, thereby avoiding additional tariffs and export duties while maintaining access to the market.
While acknowledging that tariffs will still impact high-end products like barley wines, Coggins believes price increases for premium items will be justified in foreign markets given the nature of the products.