Trump has launched trade wars against competitors and partners alike since taking office, wielding tariffs as a tool to pressure countries on commerce and other policy issues.
The EU measures -- including a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey -- were a tit-for-tat measure against Trump's levies on steel and aluminum imports that took effect Wednesday.
Global markets tumbled on the news, with Wall Street down sharply, and criticism of the move was swift from European spirit makers.
France’s federation of wine and spirit exporters, known by the acronym FEVS, put the blame on the European Commission for placing its members “directly into the crosshairs of the US president.”
- 'Hostile and abusive' -
The Republican billionaire president has also said the European Union -- which for decades has been at the heart of a US-led Western alliance -- was formed to take advantage of the United States.
French Foreign Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin said his country would “not give in to threats” and was “determined to retaliate,‘ while Spain’s agriculture minister said he hopes to negotiate.
EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis meanwhile held an introductory call with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in which he expressed concern over US tariffs and their negative economic impact on both sides.
The European spirits trade group, Spirits Europe, called on both sides to stop using the sector as a “bargaining chip” in their tariffs fight.
A 200 percent tariff would send business costs “through the roof,“ said Francis Schott, a restaurant owner based in New Jersey who serves European and American wines.
Europe exported nearly $5.2 billion worth of wine and champagne to the United States in 2023, according to the World Trade Organization.
US distillers have called the EU’s levy on American whiskey “deeply disappointing.”
Trump's tariff wars have taken aim at Canada, Mexico and China over allegations they are not doing enough to curtail fentanyl smuggling or illegal immigration into the United States --- even if in the case of Canada, the border sees negligible smuggling.
Some countries like China and Canada have already imposed retaliatory tariffs, while uncertainty over Trump's trade plans and worries that they could trigger a recession have roiled financial markets.
After talks in Washington on Thursday with Lutnick, Canadian science and industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he saw “potential for a reset” in cross-border relations when new prime minister Mark Carney takes office Friday.
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