The “big tariffs” that President Trump faulted France Tuesday for imposing on U.S. wine imports top off at just 29 cents a bottle, and are often less. Despite them, U.S. export sales are currently up.
On Trade, France makes excellent wine, but so does the U.S. The problem is that France makes it very hard for the U.S. to sell its wines into France, and charges big Tariffs, whereas the U.S. makes it easy for French wines, and charges very small Tariffs. Not fair, must change!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 13, 2018
The U.S. buys more French wine than any other country, purchasing 17.5 percent of the $10.3 billion it exported last year.
Trump is right that France, via the European Union, imposes higher tariffs on wine than the U.S. does to French wines, but the levies are not high. According to the Wine Institute, the EU places tariffs of between 11 to 29 cents a bottle on imports. The U.S. places tariffs of 5 to 14 cents a bottle on imports.
Despite the tariffs, U.S. wine is popular abroad. Total U.S. export sales worldwide were up 2.7 percent, totaling $708 million through June 2018. By volume, they increased 1.7 percent in to 21.3 million cases for the prior six months.
Imports of EU wine in 2017, including bottles from France, reached $4.5 billion, while exports of American wine to the EU totaled $553 million, according to the Wine Institute. For sparkling wines, the United States imported $1.2 billion from Europe, and the U.S. exported $3.5 million. Erasing trade deficits has been a major part of Trump’s trade agenda.
The “Wine Institute believes the upcoming trade negotiations between the U.S. and EU will create market opportunities by reducing tariffs and addressing other market access issues,” said Robert Koch, Wine Institute President and CEO.
Trump’s Tuesday tweet followed one in which he slammed French President Emmanuel Macron for suggesting that the EU build up its defense forces “to protect Europe against the U.S., China and Russia,” and another in which Trump chided Macron for having “a very low Approval Rating in France.” A recent approval poll put the French president’s rating at just 26 percent.
Over the weekend, Trump courted controversy by skipping an event in France in which dozens of world leaders walked along the Champs-Elysees to commemorate the end of World War I, a decision widely taken as a snub by EU officials.
Macron subsequently made a series of comments apparently directed at Trump and his “America First” agenda. “Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive: its moral values,” he said.
Trump has some personal involvement in the wine business. His son Eric Trump is the owner and manager of Trump Winery in Charlottesville, Va.
