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Donald Trump warns European Union, France of ‘200% tariff on champagnes, wines’

Donald Trump's warning came in response to the European Union's 50% tariff on US whisky.

Published on: Mar 13, 2025, 17:40:52 IST
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US President Donald Trump has warned France and other European Union countries that he will impose a 200% tariff on all liquor imports to the United States, including champagne and wines.

US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin. (AP)
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event with Ireland's Prime Minister Micheál Martin. (AP)

Donald Trump's warning came in response to the European Union's 50% tariff on US whisky.

"The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky. If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S," he wrote on Truth Social.

On Wednesday, Donald Trump vowed to take back wealth “stolen” by other countries, drawing quick retaliation from Europe and Canada.

“The United States of America is going to take back a lot of what was stolen from it by other countries and, frankly, by incompetent U.S. leadership,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re going to take back our wealth, and we’re going to take back a lot of the companies that left.”

The EU announced its countermeasures on Wednesday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that as the United States was “applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” or about $28 billion.

Those measures, which cover not just steel and aluminium products but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods, are due to take effect on April 1, reported AP.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer responded by saying that the EU was punishing America instead of fixing what he viewed as excess capacity in steel and aluminium production.

“The EU’s punitive action completely disregards the national security imperatives of the United States – and indeed international security – and is yet another indicator that the EU’s trade and economic policies are out of step with reality,” he said in a statement.

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