President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would impose a 200% tariff on wine and other alcoholic beverages from the 27 countries that make up the European Union if it did not “immediately” remove a 50% tariff on whiskey.
“The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “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. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
Trump’s announcement comes after the European Union rolled out a plan on Wednesday to put tariffs on up to $28 billion worth of U.S. exports in response to the 25% tariffs Trump imposed on global steel and aluminum imports. The European Union tariffs, which will go into effect in two stages, beginning on April 1 and then sometime in mid-April, could hit a wide variety of American products, including poultry, dairy products, spices, chocolate, wines, whiskey, and fruits.
“The trade relations between the European Union and the US are the biggest in the world,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “They have brought prosperity and security to millions of people, and trade has created millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. As of this morning, the United States is applying a 25% tariff on imports of steel and aluminum. We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers.”
The European Commission said the tariffs could be “reversed” at any time if a “solution” was found.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer slammed the European Union over their tariff announcement.
“The EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States — and indeed international security — and is yet another indicator that the EU’s trade and economic policies are out of step with reality,” Greer said.
The tariffs on steel and aluminum first went into effect on Wednesday after Trump announced them in February, arguing that they were necessary to strengthen the domestic economy and for national security reasons.
“Foreign nations have been flooding the United States market with cheap steel and aluminum, often subsidized by their governments,” Trump said in February. “A report from the first Trump Administration found that steel import levels and global excess were weakening our domestic economy and threatening to impair national security.”
