US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 200 percent tariff on wine, champagne and other alcoholic beverages from France and elsewhere in the EU, the latest escalation in a growing transatlantic trade war.
Trump in a social media post on Thursday said that he would move forward with the import duties if Brussels follows through with a tax on US whiskey exports, a measure aimed at retaliating against Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs that went into effect on Wednesday.
“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,” Trump said about the pending levies on bourbon. “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.”
Photo: AFP
Trump on Thursday said he would not repeal tariffs on steel and aluminum that took effect this week, nor back off plans for sweeping reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners set to start as soon as April 2.
Trump is “escalating the trade war he chose to unleash,” French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and French Nationals Abroad Laurent Saint-Martin wrote on X. “We will not give in to threats and will always protect our industries.”
The US president on Thursday again aired his grievances against the EU, this time citing its treatment of US tech companies.
“They’re suing Google, they’re suing Facebook, they’re suing all of these companies, and they’re taking billions of dollars out of American companies, many more than the ones I just mentioned. And I guess they’re using it to run Europe or something. I don’t know what they’re using it for, but they treat us very badly,” Trump said.
In response to Trump’s metals tariffs, the EU is planning countermeasures with duties on as much as 26 billion euros (US$28.20 billion) worth of US products.
The EU would also immediately begin consultations with member states, with the aim of adopting the additional lists of agricultural and industrial goods subject to tariffs as high as 25 percent by mid-April.
Meanwhile, US importers, distributors and retailers selling French champagne and Italian wines said the tariffs on European alcoholic drinks would hit them hard.
Mary Taylor, owner of European wine importer Mary Taylor Wine, said that she has 16 shipping containers of wine in transit — an amount that would wipe out her entire net worth if 200 percent tariffs were applied.
Under US law, alcohol producers cannot sell directly to consumers, bars or restaurants. Instead, producers must sell to importers or distributors, who sell products to bars and restaurants.
That means European wines are mostly imported by about 4,000 small US importers and distributors, said Ben Aneff, president of the US Wine Trade Alliance, which advocates against tariffs on wine.
It is US businesses that have to pay the levies, Aneff said, adding that US retailers and restaurants would also suffer if suppliers hike prices to cover the costs.
“A 200% tariff on imported wine would... destroy US businesses,” he said. “It would do significantly more economic damage here in the US than it would in Europe.”
Taiwan will prioritize the development of silicon photonics by taking advantage of its strength in the semiconductor industry to build another shield to protect the local economy, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said yesterday. Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee, Liu said Taiwan already has the artificial intelligence (AI) industry as a shield, after the semiconductor industry, to safeguard the country, and is looking at new unique fields to build more economic shields. While Taiwan will further strengthen its existing shields, over the longer term, the country is determined to focus on such potential segments as
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
RSS