U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to slap 200% tariffs on wine, champagne and other alcoholic products coming from France and other European Union countries in retaliation against the bloc’s planned levies on U.S.-produced 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 posted on his Truth Social platform.
“This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.,” he added.
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.
The European Commission said on Wednesday that it will impose counter-tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month, ramping up a global trade war in response to blanket U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The EU executive said, however, that it remained open to negotiations and considered higher tariffs in no one’s interest.
Trump raised the ante in a social media post on Thursday, terming the EU as “hostile.”
“The EU, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed to take advantage of the U.S., has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky,” he wrote on Truth Social.
U.S. stock futures moved lower and shares of European spirits makers dropped following the announcement.
Uncertainty over Trump’s trade plans and worries that they could trigger a recession have for days roiled financial markets. But U.S. stocks regained some ground Wednesday, even as some Asia markets retreated.
Earlier, U.S. distillers called the EU’s tax levy on American whiskey “deeply disappointing.”
“Reimposing these debilitating tariffs at a time when the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown in the U.S. 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 statement on Wednesday.
A 2018 imposition of similar tariffs led to a 20% drop in American whiskey exports to the EU. The lifting of that measure in 2021 saw U.S. whiskey exports surge by nearly 60%, industry data showed.
It was not immediately clear what legal justification Trump would rely on to hike tariffs on European alcohol.
Trump’s tariff wars have aimed at Canada, Mexico and China over allegations they are not doing enough to curtail fentanyl smuggling or illegal immigration into the U.S.
He also aimed at specific commodities, including steel, aluminum and copper.
Some countries, much like the EU, have imposed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. in response to Trump’s moves to address what he terms unfair trade imbalances.
China has vowed “all necessary measures” in response to U.S. measures and has already imposed duties of 10% and 15% targeting U.S. agriculture products ranging from soybeans to chicken.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday maintained that the EU’s retaliation, affecting products ranging from bourbon to motorbikes, was “strong but proportionate.”
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