‘This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.,’ the president said on Truth Social.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 200 percent tariff on alcohol from France and other European Union-represented nations.
Trump said in a March 13 Truth Social post that the European Union issued a 50 percent tariff on whiskey from the United States.
If European officials do not remove these counter-tariffs, the United States will impose a 200 percent levy on wines, champagnes, and other alcohol products from France and other EU member states, the president warned.
“This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.,” Trump said.
The European Commission announced on March 13 that it would initiate retaliatory measures in response to the administration’s 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. These actions included ending suspensions on previous levies on U.S. goods and implementing new levies.
The EU’s tariffs will cover about $28 billion worth of U.S. products, such as agricultural products, apparel, home appliances, and motorcycles.
Despite these efforts, the 27-nation bloc “will always remain open to negotiations,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic is in charge of talks with the United States.
“The European Union must act to protect consumers and business. The countermeasures we take today are strong but proportionate,” von der Leyen said in a statement.
“We deeply regret this measure. Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers.”
The EU’s counter-tariffs are set to go into effect on April 1.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed concerns about the tariffs, saying they would affect “one or two items with one trading bloc.”
“I’m not sure why that’s a big deal for the market,” Bessent said in a wide-ranging interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Shares of Brown-Forman, parent company of Jack Daniel’s, rose by more than 1 percent on the news, although the stock is down by more than 6 percent this year.
Trump, alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, said the United States will charge countries whatever those countries charge the world’s largest economy.
By Andrew Moran
