Trump threatens Europe with 200 percent tariff on wine, Champagne

President Trump on Thursday threatened to put a hefty 200 percent tariff on wine, Champagne and other alcohol coming in from Europe if the European Union (EU) does not remove a 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 said 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.” he added.

A trade war with Europe was escalated Wednesday when Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect, leading the EU to swiftly retaliate with a two-step approach.

The European trading bloc, which is made up of 27 nations, said it will allow the suspension of existing 2018 and 2020 countermeasures against the U.S. to expire April 1. That would allow for 50 percent tariffs on American whiskey, which were suspended, to automatically go into effect.

Second, the commission is proposing a new package of countermeasures on goods coming from the U.S. that will go into effect in mid-April, covering some $28 billion in imports in total. 

Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, urged Trump to make a deal with the EU before further escalation.

“The U.S.-EU spirits sector is the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs since 1997,” he said in a statement to The Hill. “We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector. We want toasts not tariffs.”  

Swonger on Wednesday warned that a European whiskey tariff would be “very, very devastating.”

“We’ve just gotten the news early, early this morning, that the [EU] is poised to put a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey. That will be very, very devastating,” Swonger told NewsNation’s Nichole Berlie.

Trump has also imposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, but has since announced exemptions for auto parts and goods that fell under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement he signed in 2020.

The stock market has experienced a downturn as a result of Trump’s widespread tariffs, which has helped fuel anxiety the nation could slide into a recession. 

Updated at 10:06 a.m. EDT