Alcohol-industry trade bodies on both sides of the Atlantic today (21 August) expressed disappointment that the “framework agreement” on trade between the US and the EU sees European products facing a 15% tariff.
Speaking to journalists at a press briefing earlier today (21 August), European commissioner for trade Maroš Šefčovič confirmed the bloc did not manage to secure a deal for tariffs on wine, beer and spirits in the final ‘Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade’.
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“The tariffs on the wine, spirits and beer was one of very important offensive interests of the European Union,” Šefčovič said.
“Unfortunately here we didn’t succeed to get this sector and this category among the sectors which would continue to be on the MFN [Most Favoured Nation] level.”
Ignacio Sánchez-Recarte, the secretary general of wine industry body Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV), said: “The 15% tariff is damaging a lot our business and many companies are having problems with maintaining their exports at that level of tariffs, and it will be a lot of investments that will be stopped in the US.”
It was a response echoed by Chris Swonger, the president and CEO of the US trade association Distilled Council of the United States.
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By GlobalData“While we greatly appreciate President Trump’s efforts to protect American manufacturing jobs, we are disappointed that this joint statement did not include permanent tariff-free trade for distilled spirits on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said in a statement today.
“We commend the administration for safeguarding US spirits from tariffs in the short term but without a permanent return to zero-for-zero tariffs on spirits, American distillers do not have the certainty to plan for future export and job growth without the fear of retaliatory tariffs returning.”
Another European association, SpiritsEurope, also expressed its dissatisfaction
“This was a critical moment to reaffirm and reinvigorate our shared commitment to fair and reciprocal trade and give the transatlantic spirits sector the boost it needs to get back on a stronger growth path,” said Hervé Dumesny, director general of spiritsEurope.
“While we appreciate the progress made in de-escalating broader trade tensions, every month of delay in restoring the zero-for-zero tariff agreement for spirits holds back growth, investment and consumer choice on both sides of the Atlantic.”
French wine and spirits representative body FEVS, meanwhile, described the framework as “a source of disappointment to all stakeholders in the wine and spirits industry”.
In today’s press conference, Šefčovič stressed the lack of an agreement now did not mean the situation could not change in the future.
“I would just like to add one very important word and this is ‘yet’. Because, our US colleagues, they know that this is our offensive interest, something which is very important for us,” he said.
A joint statement from the European Commission and the White House noted both economies “agree to consider other sectors and products that are important for their economies and value chains for inclusion in the list of products for which only the MFN tariffs would apply”.
Despite the present disappointment, CEEV’s Sanchez-Recarte said the association “maintains a little hope” with the knowledge that EU and US negotiators have been trying to get wine and spirits exempted from the 15% duty.
“It’s not part of this first declaration but there is still a small hope to have them included in the second package, so in the fall,” he said.
FEVS also noted in its statement that: “In the medium term, today’s decision does not mark the end of the story.”
