How Trump’s 200% Tariffs Could Be Disastrous for the Wine Industry

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The latest result of a tight -tet trade war that echoes markets, the United States’ liquor industry is preventing the impact of 200 % of revenue on European liquor and spirits imports. In short, the United States placed 25 % tariffs on metal imported from other countries. The European Union withdrew 50 % of the revenue on a variety of goods from the United States, including bourbon. And on March 13, President Trump posted about the truth social social that if tariffs were not removed immediately, the United States would impose 200 % tariffs on all liquor, champagne and spirits coming from the European Union, while both sides stopped their rates by mid -April, which allows both of them to be negotiated, and now.

The US trade alliance warns members

On March 18, the US Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA), an industry group that represents thousands of family -owned businesses in the United States, posted a statement on Facebook and sent e -mail to its members to “stop the EU’s liquor, spirits and beer shipments, because of the high risk of taxation.” The Alliance’s founder, Ben Inf, who is a partnership of New York City’s Triba Wine Traders, says there is no guarantee for the exemption of “goods in the transit”. Earlier, the USWTA distributed a letter to the members to send the Treasury Secretary Secretary Scott Basant, and commercial representative Jameson Greer to Commerce Secretary Howard Lotnik, who asked to consider the devastation that the increase in liquor prices would increase. Enf tells Rob reports Although tens of thousands of letters have been sent, “no hearing or open comments have been made yet to allow ordinary businesses to comment on the tariff issue.” However, members of the coalition have been meeting with members of the Congress every week, and Enf says that once the members of Congress learn about the flow of business with the help of alcohol, they always think that alcohol prices are bad for our country. “

The theory of an importer

We reached a vast network of liquor importers and CEOs across the country, of which almost Almost all refused to answer questions about revenue, citing the need to communicate with employees, suppliers and consumers before commenting on sensitive political and publicly commenting. However, OPC alcohol and spirits CEO Don Opsey said the proposed revenue would destroy business in the United States for affected brands, which would have to find alternative markets for their wine. Although it has no intention of firing or laying employees in the near future, Opsey says, “I can imagine that companies are forced to do so if their business falls.” He says that liquor shops and restaurants will have to adjust their inventory, and European wine “comes out of the list of liquor and loses shelf planning and floor space in the retail.”

Jenny Leafcort, President and Coofer of Jenny & Francois Seals, an importer who specializes in natural wine, wrote an opinion for her New York Times About alcohol prices in January 2020, which was implemented later last year. In the past two weeks, this article has been very common on social media. Unable to provide cheap liquor to their customers, citing the domino effect of liquor distributors (the middle individuals between importers and retailers), they wrote, “Trucking, warehouses, and shipping companies will be all affected.

Retailers and liquor bars will be severely affected

There is no evidence that American drinkers who enjoy glasses in France, Italy, Spain, Austria or Germany are suddenly going to turn their priority into something other than American wine. We’re not talking about sealing widgets in factories that can walk anywhere on the ground. “The world’s largest alcohol is naturally linked to their origin, whether a single parcel in Burgundi or a famous hill of the Napa hill, every bottle tells a story that cannot be transmitted anywhere else,” said Lauren McFate, another partner of Terraka wine traders. With an inventory that contains 75 % of European liquor, McFett says distributors who represent the best representation of domestic alcohol also rely on imported liquor sales, so revenue will also affect its suppliers. She says, “The 200 percent tariff will be destructive to any business in the US liquor industry, and the landscape of larger restaurants and fine liquor retailers will be replaced primarily.”

Heidi Torzhen, co -owner of the retail shop baptish Wine & Spirits, has begun to stock some consumers from France, which he realizes that this is not a long -term strategy. She says, “We are a very small store, so we don’t have to finance too much storage.” With a customer who is very high in European wine, Torzine does not see alternative business models if he is beyond the price limit of alcohol or its consumer. In the kitchen of hell, the purple language wine bar owner Peter Sassir and Marney Halsa are actively source the variety of alcohol from domestic and new global producers, but they are both living with a sense of anxiety in the current news cycle. “We have felt the sudden implementation of these rates as we have lost some control over the direction of our business,” said Cesar. We are determined to weather the storm, but this is a difficult situation. Rob reports

Will the taxes not help US liquor makers on imports?

On the contrary, despite the president’s claim, prices will hurt many people who grow grapes and make alcohol in the United States. “We have a very successful distribution in the central part of the country that sells our alcohol but also sells a good portion of imported liquor,” says Adam Lee, owner and liquor maker of Clares Wine Company in California. This distributor currently has three European liquor containers along our beaches. “If prices are implemented at 200 percent today, it will have additional, 000 600,000 taxes,” says Lee, Lee says, which will make it impossible for the distribution to buy bottles of themselves or any other US winery. He also worries about other European products such as Oak Barrels, Bottles or Cork. He says, “The French oak is a different type of oak compared to the US oak.” A ventner can’t easily take each other without changing his entire profile of his wine. “

Who will benefit

Is this all bad news if 200 % of European wine is taxed? Every cloud has a silver lining. Enf corrects himself, saying that the prices are “no use”. “I think this is not completely true,” he said. US taxes on EU liquor will be very good for Canada and China, which can then buy EU liquor for less money. But they are terrible for the United States. ” The entire liquor industry of the United States agrees with it.

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