U.S. Spirits Exports Slid 3.8 Percent in 2025 Amid Ongoing Tariff Battle

Revenue from U.S. spirits exports dipped by 3.8 percent in 2025, a much gentler drop than the 26 percent plummet experienced by the wine and beer categories. Exports of American spirits raked in $2.37 billion last year according to the 2025 American Spirits Exports report from the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

Ongoing international trade battles, particularly in key markets across Canada and the European Union, account for much of the dip, DISCUS says in a press release about the report. After multiple Canadian provinces instituted bans that stripped American-made products from retail shelves in March, exports to the country dropped by over 70 percent from the boycotts’ start through December. Excluding Canada, U.S. spirits exports rose by 2.5 percent, making the Canadian boycott the single most decisive factor in 2025’s exports figures.

Exports of American whiskey plunged by 19 percent worldwide and by 35 percent in the EU alone last year. The drop came after whiskey producers front-loaded exports to the EU toward the end of 2024 in anticipation of retaliatory tariffs.

American whiskey still remains the most exported type of U.S. spirits, amassing $1.08 billion in revenue in 2025. Liqueurs and cordials follow at $511 million, vodka at $282 million, rum at $90 million, and gin at $48 million.

U.S. spirits saw a 13.2 percent growth in exports to markets outside Canada and the EU — not quite enough to counterbalance last year’s losses, but enough to keep the figures from dipping too far into the negative. Despite its year-over-year decrease, the EU was the leading market in spirits exports with $1.2 billion, and rounding out the top five were the U.K. at $153 million, Australia at $138 million, Mexico at $127 million, and Canada $89 million.

Notwithstanding the subtle losses last year, U.S. spirits exports skyrocketed just shy of fivefold in the first quarter of the century. In 2000, the industry brought in $478 million. Chris Swonger, president and chief executive office of DISCUS, attributes that growth to tariff-free commerce and a boost in demand for American-made spirits.

“Exports remain a critical path forward, especially amid a slowdown in domestic sales and high inventory levels,” Swonger says in the release. “Stable, tariff-free trade and expanding market access abroad are essential to ensuring continued growth for the U.S. spirits sector.”

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