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News
Discus gains $500k to boost American spirits exports
The Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus) has secured US$511,386 in funding to promote American spirits exports next year.
Between January and October 2019, American whiskey exports to the EU fell by nearly 28%
The backing was gained through Discus’s partnership with the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Market Access Programme (MAP). The aid is nearly 15% higher than 2019’s funding levels.
“This continued increase in USDA funding is a clear recognition of the effectiveness of Discus’s export promotion programme in boosting sales of American spirits abroad,” said Christine LoCascio, Discus chief of public policy.
“USDA’s investment in these programmes is paying off. In 2018 alone, Discus’s MAP activities resulted in US$1.05 million in new exports for craft distillers across the United States.”
This year, Discus ran MAP trade promotions in Australia, Germany, Mexico and South Africa. This followed a “huge increase” in global US spirits exports, which grew from US$873m in 2006 to US$1.8 billion in 2018.
The trade body seeks to help boost small US distiller exports by educating the hospitality industry, adults and media in key international markets on the taste, heritage and style of American spirits.
In July this year, Discus was granted an extra US$400,000 in funding to combat the effect of retaliatory tariffs from USDA’s Agricultural Trade Programme (ATP).
US president Donald Trump locked the US in numerous trade wars last year as a result of implementing 25% and 10% import tariffs on steel and aluminium respectively, effective from 1 June 2018.
Since then, exports to the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Turkey and China worth an estimated US$732m have faced retaliatory tariffs – though Canada and Mexico have since come to an agreement with the US to end retaliatory tariffs.
Between January and October 2019, American whiskey exports to the EU fell by nearly 28% year-on-year.
Global American whiskey exports dropped by more than 18% through September 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.
To date, Discus has used ATP funds to implement media campaigns in Mexico, Canada and the EU, as well as conduct trade promotions in the UK.