'Enough is enough,' Brussels trade group says on tit-for-tat EU-US tariffs

Record ID: 1984185

  • Title: 'Enough is enough,' Brussels trade group says on tit-for-tat EU-US tariffs
  • Date: 13th March 2025
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MARCH 13, 2025) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SPIRITS EUROPE LOGO ON OFFICE WALL (SOUNDBITE) (English) SPIRITS EUROPE DIRECTOR FOR TRADE AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, PAULINE BASTIDON, SAYING: “We're extremely concerned by the announcement not only of the threat of 200% tariffs on alcoholic beverages from Europe, from President Trump, but also the inclusion of US whiskey
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES FRANCE TARIFFS TRUMP US
  • Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
  • City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
  • Country: France
  • Topics: European Union,Europe,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001865113032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (March 13) threatened to slap a 200% tariff on wine, cognac and other alcohol imports from Europe, opening a new front in a global trade war that has roiled financial markets and raised recession fears.
    Spirits Europe director for trade, Pauline Bastidon, said they are “extremely concerned” about Trump’s threat, and the EU’s planned tariffs on US whiskey, adding that the tit-for-tat tariffs were “completely unrelated” to the alcoholic beverages, which she said was “collateral damage" in the dispute.
    Trump's threat came in response to a European Union plan to impose tariffs on American whiskey and other products next month -- which itself is a response to Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that took effect on Wednesday (March 12). The European Commission had no immediate comment on Trump's post.
    Alcohol is shaping up to be a key friction point in the trade war Trump has launched since returning to the White House in January.
    “It's time to move on from these unnecessary disputes, talk, find solutions and, most importantly, leave us out of this," Bastidon said.
    The EU accounted for roughly 40% of all spirits exports in 2023, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, a trade group.
    Likewise, the United States accounts for 31% of EU wine and spirits exports, according to Eurostat.
    Trump said his proposed 200% tax on European alcohol would benefit domestic producers, and shares of U.S. drinks makers rose on the news.
    (Production: Yiming Woo, Michaela Cabrera)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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