One Scotch One Bourbon and more Tariffs

-Source-CNBC- In the wake of tit-for-tat tariffs Americas beloved liquid spirit is caught in the crosshairs of Washingtons escalating trade battle. In a collective strategic political punch China Mexico Canada and the European Union have all slapped tariffs on Americas booming bourbon industry. The duties came in reaction to the Trump administrations move to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum. When they targeted this particular category of spirits its clear that it was done with the intention of hitting at the heart of what is so clearly important to the American economy explained Margie Lehrman executive director of the American Craft Spirits Association. You cant get any closer to home than something that is grown by an American farmer Lehrman told CNBC adding the tariffs pose significant threats to the U.S. grain industry as well as distillers. Bourbon is truly Americana said whiskey collector Bill Thomas proprietor of Washington D.C.s Jack Rose Saloon which is popular for its extensive bourbon selection. When you talk about tariffs on steel or aluminum or anything else bourbon just cant be produced anywhere else than the United States Thomas told CNBC in a prior interview. So in many ways this is a symbolic target on American culture because bourbon is so intertwined with who we are. And nowhere else is bourbon so intimately intertwined than in Kentucky. As the birthplace of bourbon Kentucky produces a staggering 95 percent of the worlds supply employs approximately 17500 workers and generates a cool $8.5 billion annually according to the Kentucky Distillers Association.There is so much bourbon coming out of the Bluegrass State that there are more barrels of this amber spirit 6.7 million barrels than there are Kentucky residents. Local grain farmers are also beneficiaries of the flourishing industry since bourbon must be made with a minimum of 51 percent corn.