The Distilled Spirits Council, a trade group that represents producers and farmers that produce our nation's alcohol, says nearly half (46 percent) of all exports are at risk because of Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Canada, Mexico, and the European Union have already announced that they will retaliate against American whiskey and that industry is expected to take the biggest hit.
An estimated $759 million worth of spirits exports are the target of tariffs from the country’s trading partners, which, if imposed, would severely harm producers, farmers and industries associated with the spirits business, the U.S. Distilled Spirits Council said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The trade group estimated that 65 percent of global U.S. whiskey would take a hit if the European Union, Canada, Turkey and/or China retaliated.
Not coincidentally, the bulk of these retaliatory measures will hit home in states like Kentucky and Tennessee where Republicans run the show. They will have to explain to their constituents while they're allowing Trump to do this when they have the power to stop it.
Our soon-to-be former trading partners know exactly who to hit, but it may not matter if Republicans aren't willing to act.