Trump threatens 200 % tariffs on champagne and wine from Europe
President Trump escalated his commercial war with the European Union on Thursday, as he threatened 200 percent of the tariffs on European wine and the chimpania, which deepened the concern between companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The announcement of Mr. Trump, in which he described the European Union as “hostile and abusive”, came one day after the leaders of the bloc revealed plans to take revenge on a set of American definitions that entered this week by imposing a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey imports and many other American products.
“If this tariff is not immediately removed, the United States will soon be a 200 percent tariff for all wine, champagne, alcohol products that come out of France and other countries represented by the European Union.” Books on social media Thursday.
The European Union tariff plan came in response to a set of customs tariffs on steel, aluminum and other relevant products that were seized on Wednesday.
The 27 -countries bloc showed that it will interact with a tariff of steel and aluminum in America in two waves: First, with a tariff of up to 50 percent on American products including motorcycles in Harley Davidson and Kentuccy Bourbon, which will become valid on April 1; Secondly, a series of measures in mid -April targeting agricultural products and industrial goods that are important for the Republican regions.
European leaders have made it clear that they prefer not to enact these measures, and they want to reach an agreement with Mr. Trump instead.
“Customs tariffs taxes,” said Ursula von der Lin, head of the European Commission, said the executive arm of the mass in A “tax tariff taxes.” statement Wednesday. But with a little progress towards a deal, European Union leaders decided to return to the political products classes politically, hoping that they would cause sufficient pain to push Americans to the negotiating table.
European officials expected Washington to interact, and some pledged on Thursday not to a cave under this pressure.
“We will not surrender to threats,” Laurent San Martin, France Foreign Trade Minister, He said in a post On X. Mr. Trump “escalates the trade war he chose to unleash.”
The European Commission, which directly pushing the commercial policy of the economy in the bloc, had no immediate comment on Mr. Trump’s job.
But Olov Jill, a spokesman for the committee, said that the Trade Commissioner, Marus Sivkovic, had communicated with his American counterparts after the European Union ads on Wednesday. He said the calls were “preparation”.
This is not the first time that the industry of lives and alcohol has been arrested in a commercial war across the Atlantic Ocean. A less extreme tariff was placed on alcohol and other alcohol during the first period of Mr. Trump, and the industry recovery from that strike was long and exhausting.
At that time, the President threatened the definitions, but he did not follow.
Although it is not clear how important this is in this case, Bernard Arnolt, the richest man in France and head of the LVMH MOëT Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury, is a friend of Mr. Trump for a long time. The opening of the last president was attended.
Mr. Arnolt is home to brands, including Dom Perenjun, Crag and Veuve Cliquot.
This time, there was a group of executives for the alcohol industry in Washington, Brussels and other European capitals to be saved – and they expressed warning that they had fell again in the crossing.
Ulrich Adam, General Manager of the Spiritisiop Trade Group, described the threat of Mr. Trump on European alcohol as a “shock”. The group aims to “remove lives from the middle of these unrelated conflicts.”
There seems to be little hope for an immediate postponement. Mr. Trump confirmed that the definitions “will be great for wine and champagne companies in the United States.”
Champagne, technically, is Produced Only in a specific region in France. About 16 percent of its total exports go to the United States, based on Industry data from 2023Which makes America the largest importer of sparkling wine.
This is the second time this week that Mr. Trump threatened with a rapid escalation of a trade war against a close ally.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump threatened to double the definitions of Canadian steel and aluminum after Ontario’s province responded to his previous definitions by setting additional fees on the electricity that was confiscated to the United States.
Within hours, Ontario suspended her additional fees, and Mr. Trump’s secret was also his threats. On Wednesday, he began to impose taxes on Canadian and aluminum steel at the same rate of 25 percent, such as other countries.
Governments varied their responses to Mr. Trump’s introductory threats.
Soon China, the European Union and Canada have answered Mr. Trump’s tariff with their drawings, which are encouraged by local political circles to fight or encourage the leverage based on the size of their economies.
But governments in Australia, Brazil, Britain, Japan and Mexico have chosen at least at least at the present time, as they seek an agreement with Mr. Trump.
Liz Aldurman She contributed to the reports from Paris.