Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

One-in-five Scotch distilleries in financial distress

Published: 11 February, 2026

New research from financial advisory firm BTG can reveal that 69 distillers in Scotland – almost 20% of the total – are facing financial distress.

'Good progress' on whisky after Starmer meets Xi

Published: 29 January, 2026

As reported by the BBC, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that him and Chinese President Xi Jinping have made “really good progress on tariffs for whisky” after a meeting in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Wine Paris puts governments in sights as show hits new high

Published: 05 December, 2025

With record numbers of exhibitors signed up and record numbers of attendees also predicted to attend, Wine Paris has evolved its content for this year’s event to send a clear message on unfavourable government policies.

DISCUS reports sharp drop in US spirits exports to the UK

Published: 07 October, 2025

US spirits exports to the UK fell 29% in the second quarter of 2025, dropping to $26.9m, according to the American Distilled Spirits Exports 2025 Mid-Year Report (ADSE).

New Zealand Winegrowers releases 2025 report

Published: 29 September, 2025

New Zealand Winegrowers, the national organisation for the country’s wine industry, has released its Annual Report 2025.

Despite tariff uncertainty, Scotch battles on

Published: 10 September, 2025

Establishing a lay of the land for our new tariff world order is an unenviable task. For much of the planet the final tariff landscape is yet to take a solid form. For UK wine and spirits producers, however, there appears for now to be a clearer picture of how their drinks will be levied entering the United States.

Pernod Ricard: Sales fall amid tariff and travel retail woes

Published: 28 August, 2025

French drinks giant Pernod Ricard has announced its results for the 2025 financial year. Amid a suite of macroeconomic challenges, the multinational saw an overall -3% drop in organic global sales.

Tariffs: Joint statement confirms 15% US levy on EU producers

Published: 22 August, 2025

The United States-European Union Joint Statement announced by EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič has confirmed a 15% tariff on European goods exported across the pond.

Tariffs: $25bn impact on US wine while France seeks spirits exemption

Published: 30 July, 2025

Recent analysis from Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), drawing from research by WineAmerica, has revealed that the recently announced 15% tariff on European wine imports will cost the US upwards of $25bn.

Australia: Wine exports to China stabilise with other markets down

Published: 29 July, 2025

A new export report from Wine Australia shows that after an initial surge in sales after Chinese tariffs on Australian wine ended last year, Aussie wine sales to China have begun to stabilise.

Italian wine braces for €317mn loss despite tariff deal

Published: 28 July, 2025

Projections from Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) show that the Italian wine sector could lose over €317mn over the next 12 months due to the 15% tariff on EU exports to the US.

Winecap: Q2 shows signs of stability for fine wine market

Published: 15 July, 2025

A new report from wine investment firm Winecap shows that although a drop of -3% was seen for the Liv-ex 100 index in Q2 of 2025, the pace of decline slowed, highlighting potential signs of stability.

WSTA Industry Summit predicts 10% US tariff on UK here to stay

Published: 12 June, 2025

The first iteration of the WSTA Industry Summit since 2019 saw themes of resilience and adaptability underscore the global and domestic challenges explored. Key takeaways from the event included tariff predictions and the need to unwind the ever-frustrating policy burden of “three-word acronyms” from EPR to RAM.

Nick Gillett: Why Trump’s tariffs are not just a question of cost

Published: 28 May, 2025

Trade tariffs. It’s a term that’s been looming over us for the past few months, without ever really coming to a full conclusion or a new status quo. Yes, we have a trade deal, complete with a minimum 10% tariff, but when it comes to spirits specifically – the water is very murky indeed.

Fine wine market suffers biggest drop since August 2023

Published: 20 May, 2025

The fine wine index dropped in April by the greatest amount since August 2023. The Liv-ex May Market Intelligence Report said the industry standard Fine Wine 100 closed down 1.7%, attributing the decline to the introduction of tariffs and the En Primeur tastings.

Campari sees Q1 sales drop amid tariff squeeze

Published: 09 May, 2025

Italian drinks giant Campari Group has seen a –4.2% fall in organic net sales for Q1 of 2025. The company believes the drop has come amid ‘heightened macroeconomic volatility’, in part caused by the uncertainty caused by US tariffs during this period.

China matches US tariff escalation as EU mulls path forward

Published: 11 April, 2025

Effective from Saturday (12 April) China will raise tariffs on US goods in a tit-for-tat escalation which sees both countries now imposing tariffs of 125% on the other.

China ups retaliatory tariffs on US goods to 84%

Published: 09 April, 2025

China will impose 84% tariffs on US goods from tomorrow (10 April), up from the 34% previously announced, in a move which looks to further de-stabilise global markets and consumer confidence in sectors such as wine and spirits.

EU signals bourbon to be dropped from tariffs against US

Published: 08 April, 2025

Stéphane Séjourné, European commissioner for industrial strategy, has announced that tariffs against bourbon could be removed from the EU list of retaliatory tariffs against the US.