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US President Donald Trump threatened to put a 200% tariff on European wines and other alcohol products, the latest escalation in a growing tit-for-tat trade war with the bloc.
The EU “has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. 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 on Truth Social Thursday.
On Wednesday, the European Commission said it would hike levies on $28 billion worth of American goods, including whiskey, in response to US duties on steel and aluminum imports.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc “will always remain open to negotiation,” adding that tariffs are “bad for business, and even worse for consumers.”
Shares of European beverage makers fell immediately on the news: LVHM, which owns champagne houses including Moët & Chandon, shed as much as 2.2%, with Rémy Cointreau falling 4.5%.
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The Trump administration is set to impose a major round of new tariffs in just three weeks, applying across-the-board duties to every country based on the levies they put on US goods.
The EU is also discussing additional countermeasures, such as additional tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods, Bloomberg reported.