Back in 2018, as then-President Donald Trump did his usual bullying act with Europe, the European Union hit back in a smart and targeted manner, slapping retaliatory sanctions against Trump-supporting industries (e.g., coal, agriculture) and states (e.g., Texas, Florida, Kentucky).

The tariffs cost those industries dearly, yet voters in those states seemingly decided that free and unfettered trade with our allies was too big a price to pay for transgender people having rights or the price of eggs being too high, so they voted for more of that pain last November.

And now in the spotlight is Kentucky’s whiskey industry. Here’s WCPO, an ABC affiliate out of nearby Cincinnati, Ohio:

The threat stems from actions taken by the first Trump Administration in 2018, when the U.S. first slapped 25% and 10% tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports, respectively. European Union officials then imposed a 25% retaliatory tariff on American whiskey exports, which it suspended in 2022.

"We saw tens—if not hundreds—of millions of millions of dollars of impact on exports that the bourbon industry is just recovering from," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said during a Jan. 16 press conference. "A state, again, that voted for Trump by 30 points will get hit incredibly hard."

Eric Gregory, the president of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, an industry group, told WCPO that the 2018 tariffs cost his industry—and hence the state—upwards of roughly $580 million, which is a breathtaking amount. Those EU tariffs were 25 percent. The new tariffs, set to take effect on March 31 if no deal is reached between the U.S. and EU, will be double that: 50 percent. Kentucky distillers export over 95 percent of the world’s bourbon products, with the EU being their biggest export market, according to Gregory.

Want to guess the next-biggest market? Mexico and Canada—Trump’s newest foes.

Bourbon is a $9 billion industry, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Organization. The group says the local industry employs over 23,100 people and generates $358 million in tax revenue. In other words, these distillers and Kentucky could be in for a world of hurt.

"We're trying to sound the alarms as much as possible that these are good, paying American jobs that are in jeopardy," Gregory told WCPO. "We have been caught up in trade wars that have nothing to do with whiskey."

Except it has everything to do with Trump’s trade wars. Trump started a fight that has already generated a great deal of collateral damage. The smartest trade partners will do what the EU did—retaliate against his own supporters. And given that Trump’s answer to everything right now is “TARIFFS,” expect the pain to go deep.

What’s worse for these guys, domestic consumption of alcohol is down.

“The new Generation Z (isn't) drinking as much. You've got everything from weight loss drugs that deter the effects of alcohol to supply chain issues," Gregory said. "When you look at cutting off a major supply market like the EU with all this bourbon sitting here, that's a recipe for trouble."

"We need President Trump's help to figure out a way to help us get out of this mess that we've been ensnared in,” he added.

Of course, Trump doesn't care. Kentucky could’ve done something about it on Election Day, but they opted for this—and by a massive margin. As the state that also foisted Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell on us (as well as GOP Sen. Rand Paul)—if anyone deserves what’s coming, it may just be Kentucky.

The hope is now that as countries weigh retaliatory tariffs, they take the EU’s lead and focus their retaliations on red states and red-leaning industries as much as possible.

The next four years will suck, but anything that directs the pain at the right people makes it a little more bearable.