French producers worried about the election of Donald Trump

With the re-election of Donald Trump as head of the United States on Wednesday November 6, French wine and spirits producers fear new customs taxes.

Donald Trump often repeats that he has never drunk a drop of alcohol. But this is far from being the case for the Americans, who bought 4 billion euros worth of it last year. The election of the Republican billionaire therefore worries wine growers, who are already facing a consumption crisis in France and Europe. The President of the United States, elected Wednesday November 6, made the increase in customs duties a campaign argument.

During his first term, he had imposed a 25% tax on French wine in response to the conflict between aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. Suspended by Joe Biden, the re-election of Donald Trump could sign a return of this tax and therefore cause a collapse in sales. “Cognac is a big exporter to the United States, there is a lot of champagne too. There is Burgundy, there are all French appellations. The wines or our eaux-de-vie could cost much more and the consumer would turn away from it, since there is also a significant inflation crisis”, indicated Jérôme Bauer, president of the CNAOC (the National Confederation of producers of wines and grape brandies with controlled designations of origin).

The situation in the Cognac sector is even more worrying. For a month, China decided to impose a 25% customs bond on spirits importers. A retaliatory measure against the increase in customs duties on the importation of Chinese electric vehicles into Europe. For Jérôme Bauer, if Donald Trump reinstates the tax, “Cognac would have great difficulty surviving because it is a product that is mainly exported to the United States and China”.