Tit-for-Tat Tariff Threats Continue: Trump Floats 200% Levy on EU Champagne, Wines, Spirits
President Donald Trump has threatened more retaliatory tariffs on the European Union this morning, proposing via social media a new, 200% levy on all EU champagnes, wines and spirits sent to the U.S., in response to the EU’s retaliatory tariff of 50% on U.S. spirits.
President Trump said on social media outlet Truth Social that he would put the tariff in place unless the EU removed the tariffs it imposed on U.S. spirits on Wednesday. He called the tariff on bourbon “nasty” and said that this 200% levy “will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
The retaliatory tariffs the EU announced would go into effect in April and impact about $28 billion worth of U.S. goods, including spirits. The EU made this announcement — which in effect peels back decisions from 2018 and 2020 to continue to suspend tariffs on these goods from the U.S. — after President Trump announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products earlier this week.
The back-and-forth, tit-for-tat tariff war has begun to rustle up reaction from big business, it appears, especially as the stock market whipsaws and has typically ended each day down, reacting to the headline-grabbing moments and making forecasting much more difficult.
CNN reported that Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said CEOs understand the power that good tariff implementation can have, but they “are ‘angry’ over the shifting justifications offered by the administration for Trump’s tariffs.” He went on to say that CEOs are dismayed and embarrassed over the assault on U.S. allies rather than adversarial and rival nations.
