Trump threatens 200% tariff on alcohol from EU countries
It's the latest escalation of a global trade war, which this week has ramped up with 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering the US.
US President Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on alcohol from EU countries unless a "nasty 50% tariff on whisky" is stopped.
It's the latest escalation of a global trade war, which this week has ramped up with 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium entering the US.
The EU responded to the steel and aluminium tariffs by saying it would raise its levies on up to €26bn ($28bn) worth of US goods, including boats, bourbon and motorbikes, from April 1.
Tariffs are a central part of Trump's overall economic vision - he hopes they will boost US manufacturing and protect jobs, but critics say in the immediate term they will raise prices for US consumers.
Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries. The companies that bring goods into the country pay the tax to the government.
Any tariffs on US alcohol could mean a valuable market for American producers takes a serious hit.
In 2023, US spirits exports reached a record $2.2b, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Whiskey exports alone from the US accounted for $1.4b, the Council found.
Canada has implemented tariffs on US bourbon and has already started taking those products off store shelves. Those tariffs were in response to Trump's import taxes on Canadian products.
The CEO of Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman, Lawson Whiting, said last week the move from Canada was a “disproportionate response”.
“I mean, that’s worse than a tariff, because it’s literally taking your sales away, [and] completely removing our products from the shelves,” Whiting said on a call about earnings.
The latest phase of this global trade war kicked off when the US put a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium coming into the US. That began on Wednesday.
The EU responded by saying it would raise its levies on up to €26bn ($28bn; £22bn) worth of US goods, including boats, bourbon and motorbikes, from 1 April.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the response was intended to be "strong but proportionate" and added that the EU stood "ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue".
"Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers," she said, warning the economic disruption put jobs at stake and would send prices higher.
"Nobody needs that – on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States."
