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U.S. cognac maker's most important market

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Industry suffered from trade tensions in the past

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Year-end shipments up significantly

By Tassilo Hummel

PARIS, Jan 17 (Reuters) - French cognac makers increased

shipments to the United States in December, trade data showed,

as distributors fill up their stocks to prepare for possible new

tariffs while demand in the country shows signs of improvement.

France's cognac industry is particularly exposed to the U.S.

market, its biggest by volume, and memories of a trade dispute

in President-elect Donald Trump's first term sparked fears it

could return.

LVMH's Hennessy, the largest producer, increased

the amount of cognac it delivered by 17% compared with last

month and by more than a third when compared to the same month

the year before, U.S. import records from ImportYeti showed.

Campari-owned Courvoisier more than doubled its

exports to the country in December from both the previous month

and the same month last year.

Hennessy declined to comment while Campari did not

immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

The data was part of a wider pattern of increased U.S.

cognac exports at the end of 2024, an industry source said on

Friday, driven by the prospect of additional tariffs under

incoming President Donald Trump and a general market

improvement.

Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board tariffs of

10% on foreign-made goods in a bid to eliminate the country's

trade deficit. Europe's spirits industry could be hit even

harder by possible additional retaliatory measures should an old

trade dispute between the U.S. and the European Union from

Trump's first presidential term flare up.

Meanwhile, demand for luxury goods in the U.S. showed signs

of improvement.

U.S. credit card spending on luxury brands in December

turned positive for the first time in more than two years, while

Swiss jewellery and watchmaker Richemont reported strong

U.S. sales in the last quarter of 2024.

Barclays analysts also flagged a positive trend, saying in a

recent note that LVMH's wines and spirits division has "started

to see some improvement for Hennessy in the US."

France's cognac industry was hit in 2024 by weak global

demand and trade tensions with China, another major market.

Cognac exports to China dropped by 75% in December compared

with last year, the industry source said, adding that a recent

ban of cognac products from all duty-free sales points also

weighed.