DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Drinks

French Wine Exporters Say US Wine Taxes A 'Sledgehammer' To Sector

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
French Wine Exporters Say US Wine Taxes A 'Sledgehammer' To Sector

The US decision to impose additional tariffs on French wines and cognac, which come in addition to a first set of tariffs late last year, will cost the sector a total of over €1 billion, the French wine exporters' federation said on Thursday.

The U.S. government on Wednesday said it would raise tariffs on certain European Union products, including wines from France, the latest twist in a 16-year battle over aircraft subsidies between Washington and Brussels.

Washington had already imposed additional tariffs of 25% on French wine in October 2019, among an array of EU food, which FEVS said had cost the sector €600 million over a year.

Overall Impact

"The overall impact (of the October 2019 taxes and those decided on last night) will be over one billion euros for the entire wine and spirits sector," Cesar Giron, president of the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS), told Reuters.

"This is a real sledgehammer blow in a fight which has nothing to do with us," he added.

ADVERTISEMENT

He also said the impact of the new taxes on cognac sales in the United States would be "major".

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.