Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
World
Home / World / Europe

Tariff uncertainty grips French winemakers

Updated: 2025-07-29 09:22
Share
Share - WeChat
This photograph shows a demonstration of a payment at the microbrewery and bar La Fracasse in Talence, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, south-western France on July 1, 2025. [Photo/Agencies]

BORDEAUX, France — French wine producers still do not know how bitter a taste the US tariffs on wine will leave on their palates.

In southwestern France, around the Bordeaux region's famed vineyards, months of talk on what United States President Donald Trump will decide on tariffs have been the stuff of nightmares for producers as they look on helplessly.

The US is by far the top export market for Bordeaux's wine, accounting for 400 million euros ($467 million) in annual sales, or around 20 percent of the total.

Sunday's announcement of a trade deal between the US and the European Union did not clear up what tariffs European wine and spirits producers will face in the US.

While Trump stated that European exports would face 15 percent tariffs across the board, both sides agreed that there would be carve-outs for certain sectors.

Philippe Tapie, chairman of the traders' union Bordeaux Negoce, which represents more than 90 percent of the wine trade in the Bordeaux area, is worried by the uncertainty.

"One day, it is white, the next it is black — the US administration can change its mind from one day to the next and we have no visibility," he told AFP.

In mid-March, Trump had threatened the EU with 200 percent tariffs on alcohol in response to a proposed tax on US bourbon.

Then, in April, he issued a new threat of a 20 percent across-the-board on EU products, a threat ultimately suspended.

Since then, the level was first held at 10 percent, but in late May, Trump threatened to revert to 50 percent before pivoting to 30 percent starting Aug 1.

"At 10 percent or 15 percent, we'll find solutions. At 30 percent, no. End of story," Tapie warned as he criticized a "totally unpredictable American administration".

To export wine, "there's a minimum of 30 days by boat", he said. "If you go to California, it's 60 days. We can't think in terms of weeks."

Twins Bordeaux, one of Bordeaux's leading wine merchants, also laments the tariffs' effect.

"The American market represents about a third of our turnover, or around 30 million euros," said Sebastien Moses, co-director and co-owner of Twins.

Since January, "our turnover must have fallen by 50 percent compared to last year", he said.

Agencies Via Xinhua

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US