Catalan wines could have a 200% US tariff after Trump's threat

Catalan wine producers will, if the threat is carried out, face a 200% tariff on their exports to the United States, as President Donald J. Trump warned on Thursday morning.

On a post on his social media platform, Truth, Trump wrote that if the European Union does not remove "immediately" the "nasty 50% tariff on Whiskey," he would start taxing all EU alcoholic beverages.

"The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the world," Trump said before adding that the "sole purpose" of the EU was to take advantage of the United States.

"If this tariff is not removed immediately, the US will shortly place a 200% tariff on all wines, champagnes, and alcoholic products coming out of France, and other EU represented countries," he wrote. The last part of the message was all written in capital letters.

Trump ends the text by saying that the extra tariff on EU beverages would be "great" for the wine and champagne industry based in the United States.

The announcement comes a day after the European Commission announced that it would add a 25% tariff on several US products as a retaliatory measure to Trump's tariffs on EU steel and aluminum.

EU authorities plan to implement such tariffs from mid-April to hundreds of products, including US whiskey or bourbon.

Industry responds with "concern" 

The Cava Regulatory Board has responded with "concern" to the potential threat of a 200% tariff. 

Javier Pagès, the president of the Regulatory Board, told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the United States has historically been one of the four main markets for cava "because the Americans are always ready to drink quality wine, and all the wineries want to be there."

Pagès added that Trump's threat sounded like "revenge" for the European Commission's announced tariffs on American products such as whiskey and that it is a "shame" for wines and spirits to get caught up in a trade war, urging the EU to leave them out. 

In 2023, 18.7 million of the 253.8 million bottles sold were exported to the United States, making it the fourth-largest export market.

Figures for 2024 have not yet been released, but the U.S. is expected to jump to third place.

"We have read the news with no feeling of joy because cava is a predominantly international product, with 70% of sales outside the country," said Pagès.

"We are concerned," said the president of the Regulatory Board, although he added that "we will have to wait and see if the 200% will become a reality."