Contact Us
AgNet
  • About KDA
      • Office of Commissioner
      • Office of Administrative Services
      • Office of Agricultural Marketing
      • Office of Agricultural Policy
      • Office of Communications
      • Office for Consumer & Environmental Protection
      • Office of Legal Services
      • Office of State Veterinarian
      • Request an Official Appearance
      • International Trade
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
  • LICENSING & LAWS
  • Forms
  • News
      • KDA receives $500,000 grant
      • Western Kentucky Disaster Relief
      • Western Kentucky Disaster Relief
      • Kentucky Agricultural News
      • Press Releases
      • News Archive
      • Ag-Related Resources
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
      • Dicamba Training
      • Hemp Program
      • Licensing and Certification Portal (login required)
      • Livestock Entry Requirements
      • Market News
      • Pesticide Registration and Renewal
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
  • Online Services
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Ag Businesses Directory
      • Ag Ringtones
      • ARD Inspector Search
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Hay for Sale
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • KDA Calendar of Events
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Online Permitting System
      • Pest Control Company Directory
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pollinator Protection Registration System
      • Product Registration and Renewal System
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Service Agency
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
  • Ag Policy
      • KADF Applicants
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund Applicants
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF)
      • Administrators
      • Applicants
      • Applicant Reporting
      • County Agricultural Development Councils
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Board
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC)
      • Application Deadlines
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation Board
      • Lender & Mentor
      • Loan Programs
      • Kentucky Agricultural Policy Publications
      • Annual Report 2019
      • Annual Report 2020
      • Annual Report 2021
  • Animal
      • Animal Control
      • Animal Disposal and Rendering
      • Animal Health
      • Animal Marketing Programs
      • Aquaculture
      • Beekeeping
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Emergency Management
      • Equine
      • Farmed Cervids
      • Livestock
      • Livestock Welfare Complaints
      • Market News
      • Movement and Identification
      • Online Permitting System
      • Poultry
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Spay/Neuter
      • State Veterinarian
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
  • Plant
      • Farmers Markets
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • GAP-Good Agriculture Practices
      • Ginseng
      • Grape and Wine
      • Hemp
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • Horticulture
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Organic
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Produce Safety Program
  • Regulatory
      • Aerial Recreational Devices
      • Amusement Ride Inspections
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Egg Licensing
      • Food Programs
      • Grain Licensing and Regulation
      • Grain Licensing Search
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Market News
      • Organic Program
      • Pest Control - Agriculture
      • Pest Control - Structural
      • Pesticide Product Registration
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
      • Public Pest and Recycling Assistance
      • Rendering
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Teen & Tobacco
      • Weights and Measures
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
  • Promotional
      • Ag Businesses
      • Ag Education
      • Agritourism
      • Appalachia Proud
      • Buy Local
      • CSA - Community Supported Agriculture
      • Eat to Win KY
      • Emergency Management
      • Farm License Plate
      • Farm Safety
      • Farm to Campus
      • Farm to Fork
      • Farm to School
      • Farmers Markets Directory
      • Farmland Preservation/PACE
      • Farms Are Fun
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Good Agricultural Practices - GAP
      • Grants
      • Homegrown By Heroes
      • Hunger Initiative
      • International Trade
      • Jobs for Vets
      • Junior Chef
      • Kentucky Proud
      • Kentucky Wine
      • Livestock Tag
      • Market News
      • Mobile Science Activity Center
      • Promotion and Development
      • Shows and Fairs
Bourbon tariff statement
25
MARCH

Commissioner Quarles issues statement on tariffs lifted from Kentucky bourbon

Tariffs were imposed in 2018 in response to U.S.-imposed tariffs on aluminum, steel

FRANKFORT (March 25, 2022) – Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles is applauding an agreement reached this week between the United States and the United Kingdom that ends a 25 percent retaliatory tariff on Kentucky bourbon and American whiskey.

The tariffs were among those imposed in 2018 on some American products by the European Union (EU) in response to U.S. imposing a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum from the EU. An agreement to lift the tariffs was reached in October 2021 between the EU and the U.S. However, the UK and the U.S. didn’t finalize their agreements to end the tariffs until this week. The tariffs are slated to end June 1.

“The end of these tariffs was an issue I raised during my recent trade mission to the U.K. As agriculture commissioner, an essential responsibility of mine is advocating for Kentucky agriculture and farm families,” Commissioner Quarles said. “These tariffs were hurting the bourbon industry and those farm families that provide the agriculture necessities for the industry. While the end of these tariffs is excellent news, I would encourage the Biden administration to move forward on free trade agreements critical to the agriculture sector of our economy.”

Commissioner Quarles recently returned from the United Kingdom where he met with UK officials including Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs George Eustice. While in the UK, he directly advocated for the end of bourbon tariffs.

Bourbon industry impact:

  • -- Kentucky is home to 95 percent of the global bourbon industry. Responsible for $9 billion in annual economic output, the bourbon industry in Kentucky creates an estimated 22,500 jobs with a $1.23 billion annual payroll.

  • -- More than 75 percent of corn used by the Kentucky Distillers' Association members comes from Kentucky farms.

  • -- Prior to the tariffs Kentucky bourbon exports increased by 98 percent between 2010 and 2017.

  • -- Tariffs imposed on U.S. spirits decreased exports of Kentucky bourbon by 35 percent in 2020, with shipments to the European Union decreasing by nearly 50 percent, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

Press Release Sign-up

    In the News

  • 3/22/22 - Quarles recognizes Kentucky farm community during National Agriculture Week
  • 3/25/22 - Commissioner Quarles issues statement on tariffs lifted from Kentucky bourbon
  • 3/30/22 - Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef debuts in Northern Kentucky Kroger stores
  • 4/5/22 - Commissioner visits Ohio County farm retailer to discuss tornado-relief program
  • 4/8/22 - Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation approves $2,401,225 in loans
  • View All Press Releases...

    Broadcast Schedule

  • Across Kentucky
  • Cromwell Ag Network
  • Morning Ag Report - WKDZ 106.5 FM

    Kentucky Farm Fact

  • Kentucky has 184 organic farms that account for $14 million in sales. #KyAg365

KDA Video

Beekeeping 101: A Guide for Beginners

State Apiarist Tammy Horn Potter tells beginner beekeepers the four essential tools they need to get started.

Commissioner Quarles asked Facebook to stop rejecting pages that promote hemp

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles told legislators about the conflict with a social media giant.

Commissioner Quarles talks to WHAS11 about Industrial Hemp in Kentucky

Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles talked to WHAS11's Chris Williams about the enthusiasm for industrial hemp.

The Kentucky Hemp Comeback

Kentucky farmers are exploring industrial hemp, a crop that connects Kentucky’s past to its future. Kentucky businesses are taking that raw material and turning it into products.

ABOUT KDA AGNET CONTACT US REQUEST AN APPEARANCE
KY Department of Agriculture |Phone: (502) 573-0282 |Fax: (502) 564-2133 |1-800-327-6568 |Disclaimer |Ag links
  • © Kentucky Agriculture Department. All rights reserved.