President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the United States „will have no other option” but to impose 100% tariffs on French wines if Paris does not eliminate the tax targeting American tech giants.
„I have asked them not to tax American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to impose a 100% tariff on all champagnes and wines from France,” Trump said in an interview with the New York Post. „It is enough to remove this sales tax, and they would not have this kind of pressure anymore,” he added.
Trump stated that he directly conveyed the warning to French President Emmanuel Macron, asking him to eliminate the 3% tax applied to American tech giants, under the threat of imposing tariffs on the American market, as reported by AFP and Reuters.
Trump is set to arrive in Evian-les-Bains, France, for a G7 meeting at a time when world leaders are becoming increasingly cautious about the United States.
He will be welcomed by Emmanuel Macron, for whom this summit represents the diplomatic highlight of his second and final term, which is nearing its end next year.
The US President has previously threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine and other alcoholic beverages imported from France, and the EU, including in January this year and in March last year, amid escalating transatlantic trade tensions.
Alcohol is among the main exports from the EU to the US, valued at around 9 billion euros in 2024, according to Eurostat data, with certain products like Remy Martin cognac and champagne needing to be produced in specific European regions.
Wines and spirits exported from the EU to the US are currently facing a 15% tariff - a rate that the French have been keen to reduce to zero since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed on a trade deal between the US and the EU in Scotland last summer.
France has been applying a 3% tax since 2019 on digital services revenues earned in France by companies with revenues exceeding 25 million euros in the country and 750 million euros globally.