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President Donald Trump has announced that he is prepared to impose a 200% tariff on European alcohol imports, including wine, champagne, and spirits, if the European Union does not remove its tariffs on American whiskey.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, the European Union recently reinstated a 50% tariff on American whiskey, which had been suspended in 2018 and 2020 as part of trade negotiations. This tariff was not random but a direct response to the United States imposing 25% tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports. The EU had previously agreed to suspend these whiskey tariffs to ease trade tensions, but after the US moved forward with new metal tariffs, the EU allowed the suspension to expire on April 1, effectively reactivating the whiskey tariff. The US exports approximately $1.8 billion worth of whiskey to the EU annually, making it one of the most significant markets for American distillers. Meanwhile, the US imports around $6 billion worth of European alcoholic beverages each year, including wine, champagne, and spirits, creating a heavily interdependent alcohol trade between the two economies.
What’s going on now: In an announcement on Truth Social, President Trump said, “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. If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the US 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 US.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also chimed in, saying that President Trump was “totally annoyed” by the EU’s actions and would take strong steps to counter them.
If implemented, Trump’s proposed 200% tariff on European alcohol would severely impact importers, distributors, and consumers in the United States, leading to significantly higher prices on French wine, champagne, and spirits from Europe. Trump’s announcement has already caused turbulence in the stock market, particularly for companies reliant on European alcohol sales. Shares of Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Remy Cointreau, and other European liquor producers tanked. Meanwhile, American liquor companies also felt the impact, with Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s, dropping more than 5% in value.
Amid all this, Trump also took a shot at the Wall Street Journal, which wrote a piece on the proposed 200% tariffs. Trump said, “The Globalist Wall Street Journal has no idea what they are doing or saying. They are owned by the polluted thinking of the European Union, which was formed for the primary purpose of “screwing” the United States of America. Their (WSJ!) thinking is antiquated and weak, and very bad for the USA. But have no fear, we will WIN on everything!!! Egg prices are down, oil is down, interest rates are down, and TARIFF RELATED MONEY IS POURING INTO THE UNITED STATES. The only thing you have to fear, is fear itself!”
