Kentucky and Tennessee face similar financial burdens if trade talks go south and countries target American distilled spirits. Under the trade deal, the country is expected to drastically increase its American whiskey consumption. Like Champagne and cognac, bourbon’s name protection relies largely on trade deals that set standards and definitions; without them, foreign distillers are surely tempted to slap “bourbon” on anything they want. Trade deals also create structures to combat counterfeiting, another big problem for exporters. But threatening tariffs and pulling out of trade deals can quickly boomerang, hurting the very sectors of the economy that he’s trying to protect — even one as quintessentially American as bourbon.

Source: New York Times July 11, 2017 07:18 UTC