American lovers of fine European wines are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration could up the tariff on wine imported from the EU to 100 percent this month in retaliation for the European Union's subsidies to Boeing rival Airbus. Having repeatedlythreatened to raise tariffs on European wines in the past (albeit for different reasons), the Trump administration introduced a 25 percent tariffs on lighter wines (less than 14 percent alcohol) in October 2019 and threatened to extend the levy to all variations of wine and raise it to up to 100 percent in a statement published in December.
As the following chart shows, America's love for European wines is a one-sided affair. While the U.S. imported more than 6 million hectoliters from Italy, France, Spain and Portugal in 2018, merely 60,000 liters of American wine went in the opposite direction that year.