(Bloomberg) --
U.S. consumers, never shy about loading on the butter, have been buying growing amounts of Irish dairy products. A new round of U.S. tariffs may stall that momentum.
Kerrygold, the Irish import that's now America's second-best selling brand of butter, is just one of the products whose price may rise after the World Trade Organization authorized levies on a swath of European Union exports in response to government aid for Airbus.
And if you're distraught about the cost of butter, it might not help to drown your sorrows with Bailey's Irish Cream or Jameson Irish whiskey. Libations like those made by Diageo Plc and Pernod Ricard are in the tariff crosshairs too.
Related: Irish Butter Kerrygold Has Conquered America's Kitchens
The tariffs are the latest in an escalation of trade disputes across the globe since President Donald Trump took office in the U.S. pledging to put an end to his country's trade deficits with an array of other nations. Rising tariffs have mostly centered on China -- but the Trump administration has been quick to enact levies to other nations as well.
Ornua Co-operative Ltd., the maker of Kerrygold and formerly the Irish dairy board, called for the two sides to work out a settlement that doesn't hurt companies that had nothing to do with an aviation dispute in the first place.
“Any new trade tariff is an unwelcome barrier to doing business and will have a significant cost impact on our business,” Ornua said in the statement.
Diageo said it's currently assessing the potential impact from the U.S. Trade Representative's announcement. The company referred to a statement from the Scotch Whisky Association that said the tariff will “undoubtedly damage” that product.
“The tariff will put our competitiveness and Scotch Whisky's market share at risk,” the group said in a statement on its website. “We are also concerned that it will disproportionately impact smaller producers.”
Pernod Ricard declined to comment.
--With assistance from Greg Ritchie and Donald Moore.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Roeder in Chicago at jroeder@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Jonathan Roeder, Kevin Miller
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