President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200 per cent tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey.
The European tariff, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, was expected to enter effect on April 1.
But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a brand new escalation in his trade war if the EU pushes ahead with the planned 50 per cent tariff on American whiskey.
“If this Tariff isn’t 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,” Trump wrote. “This shall be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses within the U.S.”
The Republican president on Wednesday had signaled that he intended to take the motion.
“In fact I’ll respond,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office exchange with reporters.
Trump, in announcing the brand new steel and aluminum tariffs on Wednesday, openly challenged U.S. allies and vowed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries, and he drew quick retaliation.
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He has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting on April 2.
The EU announced its own countermeasures. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the USA was “applying tariffs price 28 billion dollars, we’re responding with countermeasures price 26 billion euros,” or about US$28 billion.
Those measures cover not only steel and aluminum products but in addition textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods.
European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said Thursday shortly before Trump’s announcement that the EU was “prepared for whatever might come, and we now have been preparing for over a 12 months.”
“We call on the U.S. to right away revoke the tariffs imposed yesterday, and we wish to barter to avoid tariffs in the longer term,” Gill added. “They create nothing but lose-lose outcomes, and we wish to give attention to win-win outcomes.”
U.S. bourbon makers, meanwhile, urged Trump to back off his trade war.
“The US-EU spirits sector is the model for fair and reciprocal trade, having zero-for-zero tariffs since 1997,” Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council, said in a press release. “We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which is able to create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector. We wish toasts not tariffs.”
–AP writers Lorne Cook in Brussels and Mike Warren contributed reporting.
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