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European wine industry leaders said on Tuesday that United States President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 200% tariffs on French wine if Paris does not join the “Board of Peace” for Gaza must be handled “with composure”, insisting the issue goes beyond the wine sector itself.
The wine and spirits sector has been at the centre of EU-US trade tensions since Trump’s return to power in 2025, with the US remaining the top export market for EU producers.
Negotiations over exemptions from the 15% US tariffs imposed under last summer’s EU-US trade deal had been dragging on, before the agreement itself was thrown into question this weekend by MEPs after Trump renewed his threats over Greenland.
“These are geopolitical issues that go beyond the sectoral stakes of wines and spirits,” the French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS) said in a statement published on Tuesday. “As regards trade policy, this is an exclusive competence of the European Union. The issue must therefore be addressed at the European level, in a united and coordinated manner, and spoken with a single voice.”
Trump escalated tensions on Monday night, threatening a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne after an aide to French President Emmanuel Macron said France “does not intend” to accept an invitation to join the Gaza “Board of Peace” Trump is proposing.
“I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes and he’ll join, but he doesn’t have to join,” Trump told reporters.
Industry looks to Davos for a breakthrough
French wine producers are hoping talks in Davos this week between US, French and European leaders will help defuse the crisis.
“These statements by the President of the United States must be taken seriously, but with composure,” Gabriel Picard, President of the FEVS, said.
Industry representatives in Brussels echoed that stance.
“When we talk about wine, we are talking about terroir products, very well-known brands; it is an iconic product in France as well as in Europe,” Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, Secretary General of the European Committee of Wine Companies, told Euronews, explaining why the sector has been a frequent target in the EU-US trade dispute over the past year.
Trump had already singled out the EU wine and spirits industry in 2025, with the sector viewing itself as collateral damage of deteriorating transatlantic relations.
The EU-US trade deal struck last summer does not grant wines and spirits an exemption from the 15% US tariffs, despite efforts by the European Commission to secure special treatment.
The sector is considered strategic, with the US remaining the leading export destination for EU wine and spirits.
Sánchez Recarte noted that while wine exports to the US were particularly strong last year – accounting for 29% of EU exports – the surge was partly driven by US companies building up inventories ahead of new tariffs, and results later in the year were more concerning.
“After the EU-US trade deal, in July-August, we are seeing a significant decrease in the average value of exported wines,” he said.
Exports of the EU spirits sector alone fell by 25% between August and November 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to Eurostat.