Moment of jeopardy for Europe and USpublished at 14:25 Greenwich Mean Time
Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor
Image source, Getty ImagesFrance’s cognac producers are bracing themselves as the trade row widens
There is a consensus from drinks producers in the EU and the US that nobody stands to gain from tariffs on alcohol.
Whether it’s cognac and champagne from France or prosecco and chianti from Italy, or indeed bourbon from Louisiana, any tariffs are going to hurt.
It’s not too late to draw back, and António Costa, who’s head of the EU’s Council of 27 of member states has appealed to the US to de-escalate.
But this is a moment of jeopardy for both sides. The EU says it shares with the US “the biggest trade relationship in the world”, and Brussels argues that the EU is not the problem and it has no choice but to respond to US tariffs on steel and aluminium that came into force at midnight on Tuesday night.
President Trump is angry with the EU’s response, which will come in two steps.
Initial measures, due to come in on 1 April will hit US imports of jeans, motorbikes, peanut butter and bourbon. These were tariffs that were partly imposed during Trump’s first presidency.
But the EU is going to consult on a vast swathe of new measures too, which would come into effect in mid-April. The list is 99 pages long and could include wines and spirits alongside toilet seats, lawnmowers, swimwear and even chandeliers.
