Drinks industry calls for wine to be kept out of tariff spat

Wine trade bodies have requested that the alcoholic drinks sector be left out of trade disputes with the US as a European Commission consultation on tariff countermeasures gets underway. On 8 May, the European Commission launched its public consultation on US imports which could be subject to tariffs as a response to US President Donald Trump's imposition of a "reciprocal" 20% tariff on EU-produced goods, and 25% on imports of vehicles and car parts. Although the punitive 20% tariff was paused in favour of a 10% one for a 90 day period from 9 April, the drinks industry dreads what will happen once that time is up. Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, secretary general of the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV), which represents the wine sector in the European Union, told db: "We will be sharing our arguments to get US wine out of the list. Firstly, because we believe in the wine-for-wine principle, and we signed with our US counterpart an agreement not to include wine in any trade dispute." "Secondly," he continued, "because we do not believe including US wine in the list will serve the strategic objectives of the EU, particularly in encouraging the US administration to engage in negotiations."

'Lose-lose'

Also calling for wine to be exempt from the current hostility between the EU and US was Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), who expressed concern about the possibility that European wine and American whiskey could be hit by retaliatory tariffs: "European wine exports to the United States are worth nearly €5 billion annually, €2 billion of which come from Italy alone. In contrast, imports of American wine into the EU total just €318 million. The imbalance of risk could not be clearer." Back in April, Brussels removed Bourbon as one of the targets for its own retaliatory tariffs, after much lobbying from the EU's drinks sector. Despite this, there is great concern that this reprieve will not last. "We are heading toward a lose-lose escalation,” continued Frescobaldi, “one that threatens an industry which, in Italy alone, accounts for 1.1% of GDP and generates a trade surplus exceeding €7.5 billion. What’s needed now is common sense – the kind shown by our Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, who from the outset has supported our stance in discussions at the European level." The European Commission consultation on the matter will remain open until 10 June, the responses to which will be used to finalise the proposed countermeasures, should negotiations with the US falter.