Washington — President Trump on Thursday threatened to impose tariffs on wines, Champagnes and other alcoholic products imported to the U.S. from France and other European countries in response to raised tariffs the European Union placed on American whiskey.
In a post to Truth Social, the social media company the president owns, Mr. Trump said the U.S. will retaliate against the European Union after it announced Wednesday that it would be increasing tariffs on U.S.-made whiskey to 50%.
“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,” he wrote. “This will be great for the wine and champagne businesses in the U.S.”
Mr. Trump accused the EU of being “one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world.”
Since returning to office, the president has threatened tariffs, and imposed the levies, on a host of major U.S. trading partners. On Wednesday, he increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%, prompting retaliatory action from the EU.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Wednesday that the countermeasures from the EU are worth 26 billion euros, or $28 billion. The tariffs, set to take effect April 1, target a range of U.S. exports, including beef, poultry, bourbon, jeans and peanut butter.
“We deeply regret this measure,” von der Leyen said. “Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and worse for consumers. They are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up.”
The U.S. exported $1.2 billion in wine and related products in 2024, including more than $167 million to the EU, according to the Department of Agriculture. It is the top importer of wine, bringing in nearly $4.9 billion worth in 2023. France and Italy were the top partners for importing both wine and Champagne into the U.S.
Champagne is a sparkling wine from the Champagne region in northeast France. If it is made outside of that region, it is called sparkling wine.
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, a trade group representing the U.S. spirits industry, called the EU’s announcement to reimpose heightened tariffs on American whiskey “deeply disappointing”
“Reimposing these debilitating tariffs at a time when the spirits industry continues to face a slowdown in U.S. marketplace will further curtail growth and negatively impact distillers and farmers in states across the country,” Swonger said in a statement. “We urge the U.S. and EU governments to come to a resolution that gets our spirits industry back to zero-for-zero tariffs.”
According to the Distilled Spirits Council, a retaliatory tariff imposed in 2018 during Mr. Trump’s first term, caused exports of U.S.-made whiskey to drop 20%. But over the last three years, exports to the EU grew nearly 60% from $439 million in 2021 to $699 million in 2024, the trade group said.
Since returning to the White House for a second term, Mr. Trump has made tariffs a key area of his economic agenda, though the levies have sparked concerns of a recession and roiled the stock market. The president declined to rule out the possibility of an economic downturn, telling Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday that “there is a period of transition because what we’re doing is very big.”
In an interview with CBS News, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that Mr. Trump’s economic policies are “the most important thing America has ever had” when asked whether they would be worth it if they lead to a recession. “It’s worth it.”
Lutnick added, “The only reason there could possibly be a recession is because the Biden nonsense that we had to live with. These policies produce revenues. They produce growth. They produce factories being built here.”
The president’s trade war escalated this month with 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% tax on goods imported from China, taking effect last week. Beijing imposed retaliatory measures that went into force Monday that target U.S. farmers with levies of 15% on chicken, wheat and corn, and 10% on soybeans, pork, beef and fruit.
The president, however, swiftly reversed course on the levies on imports from Mexico and Canada, pausing the tariffs covered under a 2020 trade deal negotiated during his first administration until April 2. That agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, covers the majority of goods imported from Mexico. Those that are not subject to the deal, however, still face tariffs.
Mr. Trump has also exempted other products from his planned tariffs, including providing a one-month exemption to U.S. automakers that were bracing to be hit hard by the levies on vehicle parts and components imported from Canada, Mexico and China.
