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What do wine, cheese and Airbus have in common?

They’re in the cross-hairs of President Trump’s tariff war!

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For years European Union countries have subsidized Airbus, the only competitor to Boeing for the world’s aircraft market. In October World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled these subsidies illegal and President Trump promptly imposed 25% tariff on some goods from France, Germany, Spain and Great Britain. Products affected included wines (below 14% ALC) from France and Spain, Scotch and Irish whiskey from Northern Ireland and some cheese from France and Italy. To make matters worse, the tariffs became effective with short notice and many goods were in-transit. Some importers and their distributors temporarily absorbed the additional costs but many are now passing additional cost to their customers.

Furthermore, US Trade Representative (USTR) is now considering 100% tariff covering more products such as

    • ALL wines (no exemption for alcohol content or sparkling wines)
    • non-alcoholic beer, brandies and whiskies
    • dairy products (i.e. cheese) 
    • marble counter-tops.

100-percent tariff would apply to all (28) EU countries. This month USTR will review comments from affected US companies and consumers, but there appears no resolution in sight.

Many representatives of the wine industry have written to President Trump imploring him to cease his reckless behavior towards their businesses. 

The US wine industry employs 1.74 million people and generates $68.1B in sales through both retail and hospitality channels. Approximately a third of these sales are from imports, 75% for wines produced in EU countries. Those wines are sold by every mom-and-pop corner liquor store struggling to pay the rent, every salesperson trying to meet her sales target, every young person waiting tables to put themselves through school, every truck driver working around the clock to deliver packages to consumers and businesses, and many thousands of other middle-class Americans around the country who work in the wine industry. The proposed tariffs, which range from 25-100%, will have a devastating effect on these people and their families.