Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on wine, champagne, and other alcoholic beverages from European Union countries, in retaliation against the bloc’s planned levies on US-produced whiskey. Trump has launched trade wars against competitors and partners alike since taking office, wielding tariffs as a tool to pressure countries on commerce and other policy issues. His latest salvo was a response to the European Union’s unveiling of tariffs on $28 billion in US goods, starting in stages from April. The EU measures — including a sharp tariff hike on American whiskey — were in turn retaliation against Trump’s levies on steel and aluminum imports that took effect Wednesday.
“If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. Trump also renewed his harsh criticism of the bloc, singling out its 50 percent levy on US whiskey as “nasty.” He termed the EU “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World” and said the union — which for decades has been at the heart of a US-led Western alliance — was formed to take advantage of the United States.
Trump later told reporters he would not bend on tariffs, be they on aluminum, steel, or cars, even as European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is ready to negotiate over the escalating duties. France pledged to fight back against any tariffs on wine and other alcoholic beverages. “We will not give in to threats,” Foreign Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said Thursday on X. He added France was “determined to retaliate.” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg Television Thursday that he had plans to speak with his European counterparts, without providing details. An EU spokesperson told AFP its trade chief has reached out to Washington. The EU earlier said it deeply regrets the US introduction of steel and aluminum tariffs, with spokesman Olof Gill adding that it would feel the same about any future measures while urging Washington to revoke the duties.
French wine and spirit exporters were angered at being put in Trump’s line of fire, their federation said. “We are fed up with being systematically sacrificed for issues unrelated to our own,” Nicolas Ozanam, the director general of the federation, known by the acronym FEVS, said. French wine and champagne company Taittinger added that a 200 percent tariff could bring the cost of some bottles from about $60 to over $180. The European spirits trade group called on the EU and United States to stop using the sector as a “bargaining chip” in their tariffs fight. US wine merchants and restaurant owners meanwhile also eyed Trump’s threats with trepidation. A 200 percent tariff would send business costs “through the roof,” said Francis Schott, a restaurant owner based in New Jersey who serves European and American wines. Noting it is hard to substitute specific European wines, he told AFP: “It’s just business that will go away. It’s devastating.” “If I lose half of the profit I make on alcoholic beverages, my business is no longer viable,” he said. Europe exported nearly $5.2 billion worth of wine and champagne to the United States in 2023, according to the World Trade Organization.
US distillers, meanwhile, have called the EU’s levy on American whiskey “deeply disappointing.” “Reimposing these debilitating tariffs at a time when the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown in the US marketplace will further curtail growth and negatively impact distillers and farmers in states across the country,” said Distilled Spirits Council head Chris Swonger in a Wednesday statement. A 2018 imposition of similar tariffs led to a 20 percent drop in American whiskey exports to the European Union.
Trump’s tariff wars have taken aim at Canada, Mexico, and China over allegations they are not doing enough to curtail fentanyl smuggling or illegal immigration into the United States — even if in the case of Canada the border sees negligible levels of smuggling. He has also taken aim at commodities including steel, aluminum, and copper. Some countries like China and Canada have already imposed retaliatory tariffs. Uncertainty over Trump’s trade plans and worries that they could trigger a recession have roiled financial markets.
© 2024 AFP
