US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200% tariff on French wines and champagnes in an apparent attempt to pressure President Emmanuel Macron into joining his ‘Board of Peace’ initiative.
The threat targets one of France’s most significant export industries, with the United States representing the largest market for French wine and spirits at €3.8 billion in 2024.
Trump’s Board of Peace initiative aims to resolve global conflicts, starting with Gaza before expanding to other disputes, though questions remain about its relationship with the United Nations.
Macron set to decline invitation
A source close to Macron indicated the French president intends to decline Trump’s invitation to join the board.
When asked about Macron’s stance, Trump responded: “Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he will be out of office very soon.”
“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump added.
In another jab at the French leader, Trump published a private message from Macron in which he said he did not understand Trump’s actions over Greenland.
Industry concerns mount
French wine and spirits exported to the US currently face a 15% tariff, a rate France has been lobbying to reduce to zero since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed a US-EU trade deal last summer.
The latest threat has rattled the industry, with shares in luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns major champagne producers including Moët & Chandon, falling 2% in early trading.
“The fact that we’re getting more threats is going to make the industry harder to invest in,” Laurence Whyatt, head of European beverages research at Barclays, told Reuters. “They will have to be more reserved, keep a bit of cash back, not invest, because they need to be able to weather the storms as and when they come.”
Gabriel Picard, chairman of the French wine and spirits export lobby FEVS, said Trump’s declarations “must be taken seriously but with composure”.
The industry already suffered a 20-25% hit to its US business in the second half of last year following previous tariff measures, Picard told Reuters.
French government responds
French Farm Minister Annie Genevard described Trump’s tactics as “brutal” and designed as a tool for blackmail.
“It’s brutal, it’s designed to break us, it’s a tool for blackmail. All of this is outrageous,” she told news channel TF1. “We have the tools; Europeans must take responsibility. We cannot allow such an escalation.”
An Elysee aide said the French government took note of Trump’s remarks and stressed that tariff threats to influence foreign policy were unacceptable.
European response
Europeans are weighing their own €93 billion tariff response and considering the use of the bloc’s “Anti-Coercion Instrument” to retaliate against separate tariff threats Trump has made against several European states over Greenland.
Trump has threatened 200% tariffs on wine and other alcoholic beverages from the EU before, including in March last year as transatlantic trade tensions escalated.
Board of Peace details
Governments have reacted cautiously to Trump’s Board of Peace invitation, with diplomats suggesting the plan could undermine United Nations work.
A draft charter sent to about 60 countries calls for members to contribute $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to a document seen by Reuters.
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