Maryland Legislators strike a win for imports at the expense of domestic distilleries
Wholesaler’s win over state legislators again
During COVID, in 2020, the Maryland legislature came to the rescue of the state’s domestic craft distillery businesses with a simple change that allowed them the ability to ship within the state using common carriers. There were no bad consequences to this move, no health and safety issues were discovered, and it helped many expand their business within the state. Now the legislators think it is a good idea to “sunset” the legislation, returning to pre-COVID practices.
What this means is politicians are once again supporting international imported spirits and other non-Maryland produced products at the expense of their domestic producers. Wholesalers and retailers could have supported the policy that helped Maryland distilleries, but they wouldn’t, according to some locals willing to share the details with me. Special interests and financial supporters won, and small business owners lost.
I am not against consumers having the right to buy international products or any products for that matter, but stopping one sales channel over another is tilting the market, in this case to the disadvantage of Maryland producers. To the legislators supporting restrictions on using common carriers, the wholesale lobby apparently speaks louder than constituents.
A silver lining of the pandemic was the opportunity to discover that the direct shipping of spirits is safe and responsible. Direct shipping is desired by consumers for a reason, it has been hugely successful in growing the Maryland wine industry over the years, so why would legislators treat their distilleries differently.
For those legislators who believe that the direct shipping issue for their state will be resolved at the Federal level – reread the 21st Amendment, it is pretty clear this is a state issue and not a federal issue. Who holds the legislators accountable for such actions? They are certainly not transparent in their reasoning. It doesn’t matter which party you are with, as long as you represent the people and businesses in your district and do not succumb to special interest groups.
What this shows is Maryland legislators are not friendly to their own businesses, for allowing an important policy and lifeline for small businesses to sunset this year, when it would have been easy to support their producers and continue the good work they had started. The state would get more revenue, American businesses would continue to grow, and all businesses would flourish including incumbent wholesalers and retailers.
Consumers in Maryland should let their legislators know this was a bad and unnecessary move and they should have passed legislation to make the successful change permanent.