Trump proposes 200% tariff on EU alcohol imports in trade escalation

The move comes in response to an EU tariff on US whiskey imports.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine, champagne, and other alcoholic drinks imported from the EU.

Trump noted that the threat would remain until the EU removed a 50% duty on US-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 US president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

“This will be great for the wine and champagne businesses in the US,” he added.

European alcohol firms saw their shares plummet in response to Trump’s threat.

Pernod Ricard stock was down 3.2%, Rémy Cointreau shares fell 3.8%, while LVMH – which owns Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot – saw its share price fall 1.9%.

Thursday’s development follows a long-awaited response from the EU just a day earlier, reacting to Trump’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc would impose countermeasures on up to €26bn worth of US goods.

“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 said.

Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, reacted in 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.”

Trade in spirits between the US and the EU was tax-free from 1997 to 2018, before Washington imposed a 25% tariff on some EU-made alcohol.

This was sparked by a spat involving Airbus, when subsidies given by the bloc to the European aircraft manufacturer were considered illegal by the World Trade Organisation.

In response to the US-imposed levies, Brussels then placed a 25% tariff on US goods, including orange juice, peanut butter and bourbon.

In 2021, the US and the EU then suspended tariffs related to the Airbus dispute for five years.

American whiskey exports to the EU plunged from $552m to $440m (€509.1m to €405.8m) in the period from 2018 to 2021, a drop of 20%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council.

The group added that exports then surged nearly 60% from 2021 to 2024, a response to the change in trade policy, coming to $699m (€644m).

US alcohol makers are also seeing sales threatened in other markets.

Last week, Canadian provinces started taking US-made beer, spirits, and wine off shelves in response to Trump’s trade tactics — notably, 25% levies on Canadian goods.

Canada said it would impose a 25% tax on nearly C$30bn (€19.2bn) worth of US products — including wine, spirits and beer.