Trump Threatens 200 Percent Tariff on Wine and Booze From the EU
Over the past few weeks, President Trump has completely unsettled producers of American whiskey and other spirits with a series of erratic tariff threats and suspensions. The latest comes in the form of a proposed 200 percent tariff on all imports of wine and spirits from the E.U. in response to a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey in those countries—something that everyone in the industry saw coming and could have been avoided.
During the first Trump administration, the E.U. issued a 25 percent tariff on American whiskey in retaliation to the American tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, something that had a detrimental effect on smaller craft distilleries in particular. In response, Trump slapped an equal tariff on imports of scotch whisky (even though the U.K. is no longer part of the E.U.). The tariffs were suspended in December of 2023 during Biden’s presidency, but were set to jump back to 50 percent this month if no agreement was reached. Obviously, that did not happen, so the tariffs will be reinstated at that higher mark on April 1, leading to Trump’s threat to heat up the simmering trade war.
Trump’s decree came this morning in the form of a Truth Social post, as is often the case with his thoughts whether he’s criticizing Taylor Swift or disrupting global trade. “The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky,” he wrote. “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. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
This comes after weeks of back and forth tariff threats, which have already seriously affected America’s relationships with Canada and Mexico. This has led Canadian provinces to preemptively pull American whiskey off of store shelves, despite the delays that Trump has put on the tariffs, something that could play out across the Atlantic as well. According to NBC News, America is the largest importer of wine and Champagne from the E.U., buying almost $7 billion worth these categories annually. “Not a single bottle will continue to be expedited if 200 percent tariffs are applied to our products,” said Gabriel Picard, head of the French Federation of Exporters of Wines and Spirits, in an interview with the Associated Press. “All exports to the United States will come to a total, total halt.”
As far as spirits are concerned, this could lead to prices of Irish whiskey and Cognac increasing significantly, while sales of bourbon, rye, and Tennessee whiskey would be impacted in E.U. member countries. All of this has resulted in a very busy week for lobbying group the Distilled Spirits Council, which called on Trump to resolve these trade disputes. “We urge the U.S. and E.U. governments to come to a resolution that gets our spirits industry back to zero-for-zero tariffs,” said DISCUS president and CEO Chris Swonger in a statement. “This is a model that has allowed spirits exports between the U.S. and E.U. to flourish.”
Of course, Trump could backtrack on all of this, so we will keep you posted on this developing news. In the meantime, it might be a good time to stock up on your favorite blanc de blancs French bubbly and ultra-aged Irish single malts if you’re worried about just how much more expensive these luxury bottles might get.
