WASHINGTON – Wine and Spirit are at the heart of President Donald Trump’s intensification of the trade war with European allies.

Shortly after Thursday’s sunrise, Trump threatened to slap 200% tariffs on all wine, champagne and other alcoholic products from France and other European Union countries in the country.

“This is perfect for the US wine and champagne business,” Trump said. I wrote it The truth is social on his platform.

French Minister of Foreign Trade Laurent Saint Martin I responded According to the translation, Trump said “he’s escalating the trade war he chose to unleash,” and France said he “don’t get caught up in the threat.”

Alcoholic beverages ranked 11th in the list of top European products exported to the US in 2024. According to to the European Commission.

The US imports of European wine, vermouth, spirits and beer in the US have approached $13 billion last year, according to the International Trade Center. data.

We Bourbon and Whisky

Trump said the US will “quickly” impose taxes if the EU doesn’t drop it immediately. Taxation Plan Next month, hundreds of American products include 50% tariffs on the country’s iconic Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey.

The EU announced taxes that were soon released Wednesday on a long list of American goods, including beer, clothing, makeup and motorcycles, in response to Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum, which took effect on the same day.

The latest round of Tit-for-Tat tariffs is not the first time that American alcohol producers have been affected by the trade war.

A new analysis by the Central Right Tax Foundation shows that American distilleries have lost hundreds of millions after tariffs imposed during Trump’s first presidency caused 25% retaliation from the EU and the UK.

Imports of American whiskey to the EU and the UK fell 27% from 2018 to 2019, and 15% from 2019 to 2020. analysis Released Thursday. The foundation calculated that domestic distillers lost about $649 million in exports, assuming that imports remained flat at previous levels. The industry did not recover until 2023.

Restructuring Spirit’s exports

Chris Swanger, CEO and president of the US Distillation Spirits Council, said on Wednesday that the return of EU tariffs would “seriously debilitate successful efforts to rebuild US spirit exports in EU countries.”

“Many spirit products are recognized as “unique products” by the US and the EU and are only made in designated countries. As a result, the production of these spirit products, such as bourbon, Tennessee whiskey, cognac and Irish whiskey, cannot simply be moved to another country or region.

“As the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown in the US market, reimposes these debilitating tariffs, it will have a negative impact on distillers and farmers across the country, and will have a negative impact on distillers and farmers.”

Trans-Atlantic spiritual trade rose by about 450% between 1997 and 2018 when the US and the EU agreed to zero-to-zero tariffs on the alcoholic beverage trade.

Last updated at 2:45pm, March 14, 2025