US President Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on any alcohol coming to the US from the EU in the latest twist in an escalating trade war.
Trump made the threat in response to the EU’s announcement of a levy on US-produced whiskey as part of its counter-tariffs in response to US tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports.
He called for the immediate removal of the EU’s tariff on US whiskey, calling the EU “nasty”, “hostile and abusive”, and “formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States”.
The European Commission spokesperson said that “calls are being prepared” between between the US and the EU to discuss the situation.
It confirmed that its trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, had “reached out to his American counterparts” after Trump threatened retaliation against EU tariffs on Wednesday.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the tariff on EU alcohol imports would be “great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the US”.
The latest threat marks a continued escalation of a trade war which has rattled financial markets amid concerns over the impact on the economies and consumers in many countries around the world, including the US.
On Wednesday, Trump moved forward with a plan to widen US tariffs on steel and aluminium, imposing a blanket duty of 25% and ending exemptions that the US had previously granted for shipments from some countries.
That followed an order earlier this month that raised levies on Chinese imports into the US to at least 20%.
Trump has also threatened tariffs – which are taxes applied to goods as they enter a country – on a range of more specific items, including copper, lumber and cars.
Leaders in Canada and Europe have called the new taxes unjustified and struck back with their own tariffs on a range of US products.
