Overview: The American Whiskey Association, established by major industry firms including Brown-Forman, Campari Group, Diageo, Pernod Ricard, Sazerac and Suntory Global Spirits, has appointed CEO Michael Bilello to lead a mission of global expansion. Despite facing significant tariff hurdles in markets like India and Canada, the organization aims to secure fair market access and elevate American whiskey status worldwide.
The Full Story
Michael Bilello became the first CEO of the association in September last year, shortly after it was founded by several of the world’s largest alcohol firms. During a recent trade trip to Singapore, he noted that while there is growth potential and consumer demand for US whiskey globally, higher taxation compared to other markets makes American products less competitive.
Specific trade barriers pose significant hurdles for the industry’s newly-minted leadership to overcome. In India, American whiskey faces tariffs of 150% and bourbon faces 100%, which means it cannot compete with Scotch or Irish whiskey which have better deals and trade arrangements. The situation is even more restrictive in Canada, where US whiskey is being boycotted from shelves as part of a trade and tariff dispute, preventing items from appearing on government-run store shelves across most provinces.
Brand & Industry History
American whiskey has long faced intense competition from many markets including both older compatriots such as Ireland and Scotland, as well as newer distilling markets like Japan and India. The United States’ political stance over the past few years of President Donald Trump’s leadership has led to American products becoming subject to additional tariff and trade barriers compared to previous decades.
What This Means
The mission of the American Whiskey Association is to make American whiskey the world’s whiskey, and step one for us right now in this quest is to obtain fair market access and level the playing field. Step two is that we need to get more US whiskey into more markets outside of the US itself, meaning we need to increase exports. For too many years now, we have as an industry relied too heavily on the local market for our growth, and we not need to look at export markets and engage with important markets like India and Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Oceania if we want to achieve our goals.
Consumer Takeaway
To do this, Billelo is emphatic that mixology and innovation are more important than ever before in the whiskey category, highlighting Asia as a leading market in this space. In the US, many people drink whiskey neat or on the rocks, but in Asia and especially Singapore, this is not as common — instead, creations such as highballs and other cocktails are exceedingly popular. American whiskey is also versatile enough that it can easily be the base spirit for many ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, offering consumers a convenient option they can grab off shelves.
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