Trump Threatens 200% Tariffs on European Union Alcohol

March 14, 2025 | 08:33 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne, and other alcoholic beverages imported from the European Union. This threat was issued on Thursday evening.

Trump stated that this tariff would remain in effect until the EU removes its 50 percent import duty on U.S.-made whiskey. "If this tariff is not removed immediately, the US will shortly place a 200% tariff on all wines, champagnes and alcoholic products coming out of France and other EU represented countries," the U.S. President wrote on his Truth Social platform, as reported by Euronews.

He further added, "This will be great for the wine and champagne businesses in the U.S."

The threat caused a decline in the stock prices of European alcohol companies. Pernod Ricard's shares fell by 3.2 percent, Rèmy Cointreau's by 3.8 percent, and LVMH, which owns Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot, saw its stock price drop by 1.9 percent.

This development occurred after the European Union's response a day earlier to Trump's 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that the bloc would impose retaliatory measures on U.S. goods worth up to 26 billion euros.

"We deeply regret this measure," von der Leyen said in a statement. "Tariffs are taxes, they are bad for business and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy," she added.

Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, reacted to the EU's decision with a statement on Wednesday: "The EU’s announcement to reimpose these tariffs on American whiskey at 50% on 1 April is deeply disappointing and will severely undercut the successful efforts to rebuild US spirits exports in EU countries."

The alcoholic beverage trade between the U.S. and the European Union was duty-free from 1997 to 2018 before Washington imposed a 25 percent tariff on a range of EU-produced alcohols. This action was triggered by a dispute involving Airbus, where the subsidies provided by the bloc to the European aircraft manufacturer were deemed illegal by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In response to the levies imposed by the U.S., Brussels later imposed a 25 percent tariff on U.S. goods, including orange juice, peanut butter, and bourbon. In 2021, the U.S. and the EU then suspended tariffs related to the Airbus dispute for five years.

American whiskey exports to the EU fell from US$552 million to US$440 million from 2018 to 2021, a 20 percent decrease, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. The group added that exports then surged nearly 60 percent from 2021 to 2024 in response to trade policy changes, reaching US$699 million.

American alcohol makers also face threatened sales in other markets. Last week, Canadian provinces began removing American beer, alcoholic beverages, and wine from the market in response to Trump's trade tactics, specifically a 25 percent duty on Canadian goods. Canada said it would levy a 25 percent tax on U.S. products worth nearly C$30 billion, including wine, alcoholic beverages, and beer.

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