U.S. wine distributors and sellers are facing severe damage to their businesses after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 200 percent tariff on European wine and spirits, among other tariffs on a wide array of EU exports.
On March 13, Trump threatened to impose an additional tariff on alcohol products from the EU in response to its 50 percent tariff on U.S. whiskey, which was a retaliation against the global tariff on steel and aluminum products issued by the U.S. president.
Despite the escalating trade war, the exact timing of the tariffs on EU wines and spirits remains unclear, casting the industry into great uncertainty.
Many wine distributors and sellers in the U.S. have expressed their grave concerns, with some saying even domestic wines and other alcohols will surely go up in price alongside EU imports.
"Well, especially us since we are importing most of our wine from Europe, getting a 200 percent tax will be tough to deal with. Prices will go to the roof, and obviously the sales will drop. The consumer will go with domestic wine and probably a lot of South American wine, Argentina and Chile," said Jean-Charles Regnault, who recently founded Capital Wines, a U.S. wine distributor in Miami, with his French partner Alex Barrellier.
Despite the fact that the U.S. and EU are among each other's most important import and export markets, Trump's swift policy changes cast doubt over the future of the industry.
"I do not like the uncertainty we live in right now, especially when it comes to this tariff war. Our biggest allies have always been Canada and the EU, and all of a sudden they turn into our biggest enemies," said Mario Duta, the owner and manager of WinesToGo, a wine store in New York.
"This is not beneficial for anybody. We cannot price items, we cannot buy inventory based on speculations," said Duta.
After announcing the tariff, Trump posted on his own social media platform "Truth Social" that the new policy "will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S."
Despite the predicted chaos in the near future, the French partners in Miami admit there could be a silver lining for American winemakers, although consumers will still bear the burden.
"If I was a producer in California and the rest of the world will have 200 percent taxes, I will say I will raise mine this year 15 percent, 20 percent, because it would be still cheaper than any European wine," said Barrellier.
"It's going to be a big challenge. But remember it's going to be an opportunity, I take it that way, an opportunity for new brands to come to the market, coming from the west part of the U.S., California. There are still a lot of brands that needs to be discovered," said Regnault.
Huge tariffs on EU alcohol to hurt business, say U.S. wine merchants
Huge tariffs on EU alcohol to hurt business, say U.S. wine merchants
