The wine market is not a long, quiet river between Chinese taxes, Trump threats, English taxation, European labeling… Enough to view the Mercosur agreement rhyming with openness. Update with Ignacio Sanchez Recarte, secretary general of the European Wine Business Committee (CEEV).
C
How does the CEEV see the issue of Chinese taxes on European brandies evolving: Is de-escalation possible or is the spiral impossible to stop?
Ignacio Sanchez Recarte: Even if for the moment wines are not impacted, we see with great concern the deterioration of relations between the European Union and China, and above all, how agri-food products are taken hostage in disputes which have nothing to do with them.
Already difficult, the American market seems threatened for European wines and spirits with the election of Donald Trump wanting to tax all imported products by 10 to 20% and possibly lifting the suspension of Airbus taxes before June 2026… Adding to this the risk of new strikes in East Coast ports from January 2025, how to navigate these troubled waters?
The United States is our main export market and it is fundamental to be able to maintain good access to this market. Of course, the announcements made during the presidential campaign on a possible universal tax are worrying and must be taken seriously. We must maintain and further develop the collaborations that the European Union has with the American authorities in the field of wine.
More generally, wines and spirits are repeatedly held hostage in commercial conflicts that do not concern them. How to get them out of this in the future?
Unfortunately this is not up to us. But it is our responsibility, of the entire agri-food sector united, to actively demand that our products are not taken hostage. For example, as CEEV, we asked Brussels, in the context of the Boeing dispute, not to apply compensation duties on American wines, even if the American authorities had decided to apply additional tariffs on wines. of the European Union in the context of the Airbus dispute.
The British market announces an increase in its base fees: what is the CEEV's position?
We know that increasing taxes is counterproductive and does not guarantee an increase in revenue – as evidenced by the latest data from HMRC (HM Revenue and Customs) which shows that alcohol tax revenues have fallen by nearly of £500 million in the first six months of the financial year (€600 million), due to a 20% increase in taxes on nine out of ten spirits and a 10% increase on spirits of average strength.
Through our member in the United Kingdom (the WSTA), the wine sector has warned that increasing taxes will not help businesses to invest and grow, but will lead to price increases for consumers and, above all, will not help the Treasury recover the funds it so badly needs to fill the black hole in public finances.
As a further problem, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has failed to reverse unnecessary and costly changes to the way wine is to be taxed from the first of February next year.
Could the Mercosur agreement be good news for conquering new markets (like Brazil) or does it constitute a risk (by opening the European market to Argentine competition)?
Let's be frank, Argentinian wines are already present on the European Union market – European tariffs on imported still wine are not a barrier to trade and we are not going to see a massive arrival of Argentinian wines. The EU-MERCOSUR treaty represents a huge opportunity for the sustainability of European wine. We need new markets, new consumers, and this treaty opens the door to Brazil for us. Country in which we face significant tariffs and various technical barriers to trade. We need this agreement and we will defend its ratification.
Can the European market support its wine companies? What levers would be mobilized (one-stop shop for intra-community export to individuals, standardization of rules on labeling, etc.)?
The European Union market is the main wine market in the world and must be our basic stronghold. However, it must function better, be more fluid, and avoid the adoption of non-harmonized rules at the national level. Because otherwise, instead of a single market, we will have 27 small markets. Therefore European legislation can play an important role in facilitating our intra-European trade.
For example, we need total harmonization on labeling – no additional standards at national level – a linguistic framework that allows us to use a single label for the entire European Union based on digital and symbols and the establishment of a simple regime accessible to all operators for intra-European Union distance selling.
Does the CEEV have specific requests from the High Level Group of the European Commission?
Yes, we have shared with the Commission our manifesto on the future of the wine sector and a specific note for the first meeting of the high level group with a detailed plan of what we think should be done, and also what should be avoided … For the moment I believe that the discussions of the Member States are going in the right direction. Let's wait until the last meeting in mid-December.
Related News :