Blitz Bureau
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a massive tariff on European alcohol in response to the European Union’s retaliation against his steel and aluminum tariffs, reported CNN.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said his administration would impose a 200 per cent tariff on alcoholic beverages from the EU unless it rescinds the 50 per cent tariff the European Government imposed on US spirits.
“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 said. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.” America’s response to Europe’s response to America’s tariffs in the span of 36 hours shows how trade wars can quickly spiral out of control, said the CNN report further. After Trump’s 25 pc tariffs on aluminum and steel went into effect at midnight on March 12 morning, the EU immediately retaliated against what it called an “unjustified” trade action from the Trump administration.
Swift, proportionate
The EU’s countermeasures included tariffs on €26 billion ($28 billion) worth of American goods, including tariffs on boats, bourbon and motorbikes. The measures, which are set to go into effect in April, are “swift and proportionate,” the EU said in a statement, according to the CNN report. America’s spirits industry said it was bracing for pain from the retaliatory tariffs. If the trade spat continues to escalate, US booze-makers may need to contend with even more retaliation.
France is the top wine exporter to the US, shipping $2.5 billion worth of it last year, according to US Commerce Department data. Italy was a close second, sending $2.3 billion worth of wine to the US last year. For both countries, wine is among the top goods they export to the US.
French Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin was quoted having said in the CNN report, “Trump is escalating the trade war he has chosen to start” and that his country would “fight back.”
“We will not give in to threats and will always protect our industries,” he wrote in a post on X.
Olof Gill, trade spokesperson for the EU Commission, called on the US “to immediately revoke” the steel and aluminum tariffs. “We want to negotiate, to avoid tariffs in the future,” he said. “They bring nothing but loselose outcomes, and we want to focus on win-win outcomes.”
