Sawt Falasteen - Trump threatens huge tariffs on European wine, spirits

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.

His latest salvo was a response to the European Union's unveiling of tariffs on $28 billion in US goods, to be imposed in stages starting in April.

The EU measures -- including a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey -- were a tit-for-tat measure against Trump's levies on steel and aluminum imports that took effect Wednesday.

"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.

Global markets tumbled on the news, with Wall Street down sharply, and criticism of the move was swift from European spirit makers.

French wine and champagne company Taittinger said a 200 percent tariff could bring the cost of some bottles from about $60 to more than $180.

France's federation of wine and spirit exporters, known by the acronym FEVS, put the blame on the European Commission for placing its members "directly into the crosshairs of the US president."

"We are fed up with being systematically sacrificed for issues unrelated to our own," said the group's director general Nicolas Ozanam.

- 'Hostile and abusive' -

Trump called the EU's planned levy on US whiskey "nasty" and dubbed the bloc "one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World."

The Republican billionaire president has also said the European Union -- which for decades has been at the heart of a US-led Western alliance -- was formed to take advantage of the United States.

He told reporters he would not bend on his aggressive tariffs policy, while European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is ready to negotiate over escalating duties, though she insisted that tariffs are "bad for business."

French Foreign Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said his country would "not give in to threats" and was "determined to retaliate,' while Spain's agriculture minister said he hopes to negotiate.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg Television he had plans to speak with his European counterparts, while an EU spokesperson said its trade chief has reached out to Washington.

EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis meanwhile held an introductory call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in which he expressed concern over US tariffs and their negative economic impact on both sides.

- 'Devastating' -

The European spirits trade group, Spirits Europe, called on both sides to stop using the sector as a "bargaining chip" in their tariffs fight.

US wine merchants and restaurant owners also eyed Trump's threats with trepidation.

A 200 percent tariff would send business costs "through the roof," said Francis Schott, a restaurant owner based in New Jersey who serves European and American wines.

"It's just business that will go away. It's devastating," he told AFP. "If I lose half of the profit I make on alcoholic beverages, my business is no longer viable."

Europe exported nearly $5.2 billion worth of wine and champagne to the United States in 2023, according to the World Trade Organization.

- EU levy 'disappointing' -

US distillers have called the EU's levy on American whiskey "deeply disappointing."

A 2018 imposition of similar tariffs led to a 20 percent drop in American whiskey exports to the European Union.

Trump's tariff wars have taken aim at Canada, Mexico and China over allegations they are not doing enough to curtail fentanyl smuggling or illegal immigration into the United States --- even if in the case of Canada, the border sees negligible smuggling.

He has also taken aim at commodities including steel, aluminum and copper.

Some countries like China and Canada have already imposed retaliatory tariffs, while uncertainty over Trump's trade plans and worries that they could trigger a recession have roiled financial markets.

After talks in Washington on Thursday with Lutnick, Canadian science and industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he saw "potential for a reset" in cross-border relations when new prime minister Mark Carney takes office Friday.

E.Qaddoumi--SF-PST