US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit French wines and champagne with 200 percent tariffs, in an apparent attempt to persuade French President Emmanuel Macron to join his "Peace Committee" initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts, Reuters reported today.
Trump's initiative, which would start with Gaza and then expand to other conflicts, raises questions about the role of the United Nations, and a source close to Macron said the French president intends to decline an invitation to join.
Asked about Macron's stance, Trump said: "Did he say that? Well, nobody wants him because he's going to be out of office very soon."
"I'm going to put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes and he'll join in, but he doesn't have to join in," Trump said.
Threat of wine tariffs part of broader offensive against the European Union (EU)
Macron is in Davos today, where the World Economic Forum is taking place, and is scheduled to return to Paris in the evening. Aides at the Elysee Palace said there were no plans to extend his stay until Wednesday, when Trump arrives at the Swiss mountain resort.
In another attack on the French leader, Trump released a private message from Macron in which he said he did not understand Trump's moves regarding Greenland. France will hold elections in 2027 to choose Macron's successor.
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Wines and spirits exported from the EU to the United States are currently subject to a 15 percent tariff - a rate that the French have been trying hard to reduce to zero ever since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reached a US-EU trade deal in Scotland last summer.
The US is the largest market for French wines and spirits, with exports to the US amounting to €3,8 billion in 2024.
"The fact that we are getting new threats will make the industry less investment-friendly and make it harder for companies to make decisions about their own investments. They will be forced to be more cautious, to hold onto some cash, not to invest, because they need to be ready to weather the storms whenever they come," said Lawrence Wyeth, head of European drinks research at Barclays.
Shares in luxury conglomerate LVMH, which owns major champagne producers including Moet & Chandon, fell 2 percent.
Gabriel Picard, president of the French wine and spirits export lobby FEVS, told Reuters on Monday, before the new threat, that the industry had suffered a 20 to 25 percent drop in activity in the United States in the second half of last year due to earlier trade measures.
A Macron aide said the Elysee Palace had taken note of Trump's statements and stressed that threats of tariffs aimed at influencing the foreign policy of a third party were unacceptable.
Trump's threats are "brutal," says Agriculture Secretary
The Europeans are considering their own response in the form of tariffs worth €93 billion, and even using the EU's "Anti-Coercion Instrument" to respond to a specific threat of increased tariffs against a group of European countries over Greenland.
"It's brutal, it's designed to break us, it's a means of blackmail. It's all scandalous. We have the tools; Europeans must take responsibility. We must not allow this kind of escalation," French Agriculture Minister Anne Genevar told TF1 television.
Trump has previously threatened 200 percent tariffs on wine and other alcoholic beverages imported from the EU, including in March last year, when transatlantic trade tensions intensified.
Governments have reacted cautiously to Trump's call to join a "Peace Board," a plan that diplomats said could harm the work of the United Nations.
According to a draft charter sent by the US administration to about 60 countries, and seen by Reuters, members are required to pay $1 billion in cash if they want their membership to last longer than three years.
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