Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPresident Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey.
The European tariff, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, is expected to go into effect on April 1, just ahead of separate reciprocal tariffs that Trump plans to place on the EU.
But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a new escalation in his trade war if the EU goes forward with the planned 50% tariff on American whiskey.
“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 wrote. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
The U.S. president has defined his opening weeks in the White House with near-daily drama regarding tariffs, saying that taxing imports might cause some economic pain but would eventually lead to more domestic manufacturing and greater respect for America.
As of now, Europe seems unwilling to back down.
“Trump is escalating the trade war he has chosen,” Laurent Saint-Martin, the French delegate minister for foreign trade, said on X. “France, together with the European Commission and our partners, is determined to fight back. We will not give in to threats and will always protect our industries.”
Trump’s latest tariff threats suggested that even companies that have publicly stood by him could be collateral damage, raising questions about whether the wider business community would be willing to openly challenge a series of trade wars that have hurt the stock market and scared consumers who worry about inflation worsening.
Bernard Arnault, the CEO of French luxury goods company LVMH, attended Trump’s inauguration in January. His company’s wine and spirits brands, which include Moët & Chandon, Krug, Veuve Clicquot and Hennessy, could be subject to the retaliatory tariffs the U.S. president is seeking. The Italian company Campari could also be hurt, after the White House highlighted it at Tuesday’s press briefing for possibly opening a U.S. factory.
The Republican president on Wednesday had signaled that he intended to take the tariffs action.
“Of course I will respond,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office exchange with reporters.
Trump, in announcing the new steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, openly challenged U.S. allies and vowed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries, and he drew quick retaliation.
He has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.
The EU announced its own countermeasures. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was “applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” or about $28 billion.
Those measures cover not just steel and aluminum products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods.
European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said Thursday shortly before Trump’s announcement that the EU was “prepared for whatever might come, and we have been preparing for over a year.”
“We call on the U.S. to immediately revoke the tariffs imposed yesterday, and we want to negotiate to avoid tariffs in the future,” Gill added. “They bring nothing but lose-lose outcomes, and we want to focus on win-win outcomes.”
U.S. whiskey makers, meanwhile, urged Trump to broker a deal.
“The US-EU spirits sector is the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs since 1997,” Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a statement. “We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector. We want toasts not tariffs.”
When Europe responded to Trump’s 2018 tariffs with a 25% tax on U.S. whiskey, exports to the EU fell by 20% through 2021, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. Trump’s separate 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico could put 31,000 jobs at risk in the sector.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
As a direct result of all the chaos and nonsense in DC, in the time since the election (4 months), my retirement account is down almost 1% after being up 20% in the full year prior. We are NOT winning.
Votes working yet, Trumpers?
Of course…wine tariffs are targeted revenge on “wine sipping Libs”. Everyone knows MAGA folks drink Miller Lite and bourbon. 🙂
Since Musk is the buying Trump’s wine, why would he care what it costs?
It’s like the world is having deal with a six year old child.
I don’t know what is going to finally trigger it, but I am predicting mass protests this spring and summer that will make BLM look pettey.
If that happens, I wonder if congressional Republicans will finally do something? They are so far sitting back and cheering on an incredible amount of destruction and misery — at some point it may end up backfiring on the party.
It will likely start with the VA and Social Security not having enough people to process payments or to book appointments. Maybe there will even be golf-cart parade protests in The Villages in Florida, the epicenter of MAGAworld.
Nothing riles people up like taking away the old age and disability benefits they have earned and paid for with hard work, blood, sweat, and tears (and in the case of vets, many also paid in limbs, vision, hearing, and lungs).
You do realize that the EU has always had tariffs on American goods? Im ex navy and was stationed in Spain and Italy and never seen an American car driven there. The only thing I saw was a McDonald’s and thats not saying much cause I despise fast-food
The point is we have never been treated fair when it comes to trade but the average American has become costume to how things has always been. Now that Trump is making it public, most donkey party liberals want to make the president look like the bad guy because he wants a fair playing field for American products. Might as well take the United out of our title and just call it Americon cause we’ve been conned for years to think things are normal.
You didn’t see US manufactured cars in Europe? Duh??? They have Mercedes, VW, Porsche, BMW, Citroen, Fiat, and US car companies owning labels like Opel. Why would you take on the cost of importing large US made cars? They make similar and better right there…
We bought, and still buy, their cars. And Japanese. Historically better designed, better engineered, better made, than US cars.
You just proved my point. They can sell their vehicles here but American products aren’t sold there. Even when American products are sold there its hit with tariffs. Yet European, Japanese, South Korean cars have full range to America’s market. Tell me how thats fair let alone makes logic business sense? America doesn’t make large car’s anymore. Yes there’s mid and full size SUV’S and trucks but there’s just as many variety of makes and models of cars as European counterparts. Your point of better design, better engineered doesn’t justify tariffs on American car companies and NONE on foreign manufacturers.
Mercedes, BMW are trash. I owned two BMW’S. 750iL and a X7. The & series are notorious for transmission issues and the BMW suv’s have engine issues. Anyone who’s ever owned a Mercedes or BMW will tell you to never by pre owned and even brand new ones constantly stay in the shop with manufacturer recalls. Over exaggerated, overly engineered sensitive product and over priced.