Tariff Hike Would Hit U.S. Wine Lovers Where It Hurts

If the Trump administration makes good on its threat to impose a 100 percent tariff on European wines in retaliation for EU subsidies to Airbus, it wouldn’t just hurt Europe’s biggest wine producers, who could probably sell their esteemed product elsewhere (hello China!), it would also hurt many American businesses (importers, restaurants, etc.) and finally U.S. consumers themselves.

Effectively doubling the price of wines from countries such as Italy, Spain, France and Portugal would make them unaffordable for many people, severely limiting their choice of grape. As the following chart shows, the European Union accounted for more than 60 percent of global wine production in 2018, dwarfing the United States’ 8 percent share in comparison. Limiting access to these wines would be a tough blow to wine lovers across the country.