A bill working its way through the South Carolina House would, if passed, stop South Carolina alcohol retailers from selling Russian alcohol.
H.5055, filed by Rep. Russell W. Fry (R-Surfside Beach) and co-sponsored by 30 other lawmakers including Rep. Patrick Haddon (R-Greenville), would ban retailers from selling any alcohol that is “manufactured or produced in Russia.”
“South Carolina dollars should not be subsidizing Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs,” Fry said in support of the bill. “Russia’s belligerent behavior in Ukraine requires an unprecedented response, and these bills will show the world that South Carolina stands for freedom.”
The Lowcountry lawmaker also filed a bill to prohibit investing state funds in Russian-owned or operated companies.
Peter Bouharoun, owner of Bouharoun’s Fine Wines & Spirits in downtown Greenville, said he supplies alcohol to most of Greenville’s restaurants, a number of which have already pulled labels from their shelves. But, there’s a catch — a lot of labels are no longer manufactured or produced in Russia.
“When you think of Russian alcohol, it screams vodka,” he said. “But most of the traditional vodkas are no longer made in Russia. Stolichnaya is made in Latvia. Smirnoff is made in Connecticut and owned by a London-based company.”
In other words, nixing the sale of Russian alcohol is not as simple as it may seem in what is an increasingly interdependent global supply chain.
“Alcohol is a global business. Wheat for Russian vodka may come from Ukraine and the bottle it’s in may come from China,” he said. “The American company with distribution rights will feel it, so, you’re basically hurting them, too. We’ll comply with whatever law the legislature passes, but, ultimately it won’t do any good. People will buy other vodkas so it won’t be much of an impact. The bad thing is that it won’t be much of an impact on Russia, either, because Russia is not a liquor store. Russia is a huge gas station. [Putin] is not going to care about the liquor.”
Upstate Co-Sponsors of H.5055:
- Patrick B. Haddon – Greenville
- James Mikell “Mike” Burns – Taylors
- Stewart O. Jones – Laurens
- Ashley B. Trantham – Pelzer
- Roger A. Nutt – Moore
- Steven Wayne Long – Boiling Springs
- Jerry T. Carter – Clemson
- John R. McCravy III – Greenwood
- Craig A. Gagnon – Abbeville
- John Taliaferro “Jay” West IV – Belton
