The Trump administration has announced that it will slap 25% tariffs on European wines and single malt whisky but made the exception to spare Italian wine, as a response to retaliate EU for aircraft subsidies.
Wines from France, Germany, Spain and the UK will be subject to 25% tax hike as early as October 18, according to a list released by the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office on Wednesday.
In addition to the aforementioned products, a range of other products including Italian cheese, men’s suits, sweaters, olives and other products worth up to US$75 billion could be subject to additional tariffs.
The US remains EU’s biggest wine export market. The trade bloc exported €3.76 billion worth of wines to the American market in 2018, according to data released by the EU.
Trump earlier threatened to increase tariffs on a series of French products after learning that the EU subsidized aircrafts at the expense of its US competitor Boeing.
The Trump administration is already mired in a prolonged trade war with China that has lasted more than a year.
As a result of the tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s largest two economies, American wine exports to China have shrunk after punitive taxes levied on American wines neared 100%.
