A 15% tariff on EU wine and spirits going into the US is expected to apply from tomorrow (1 August), the European Commission has confirmed.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference today (31 July), Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said: “The Commission remains determined to achieve and secure the maximum number of carve-outs, including for traditional EU products such as wine and spirits.
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“It is not our expectation that wine and spirits would be included as an exemption in the first group announced by the US tomorrow, and therefore that sector, as with all other economic sectors, will be captured by the 15% ceiling.”
Gill added that negotiations between the EU and US were ongoing and the bloc aimed to secure an exemption for wine and spirits “as soon as possible”.
Secretary general of the industry body CEEV, Ingacio Sanchez-Recarte, told Just Drinks the group had also been informed by the Commission that, unless a special agreement on tariffs is reached, the 15% levy will apply to wine and spirits from tomorrow.
The EU and US struck a trade deal last weekend which revealed a 15% tariff is to be applied to most exports entering the US, though a decision had not been made on alcohol at that point.
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By GlobalDataIn its announcement, the EU Commission said that besides the 15% levy, the US and EU had also agreed on “zero-for-zero tariffs” on several goods, including “certain agricultural products”.
Asked by a press member whether the zero-for-zero agreement included alcohol, spirits and wine, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “no decision” had been made yet and that the topic would be discussed in the “next days”.
A report from Reuters suggested discussions between the EU and US are anticipated to continue into the autumn.
A senior diplomat close to the discussions told the publication talks on wine tariffs would continue once both countries finalise their joint statement on the framework trade deal confirmed last weekend.
CEEV’s Sanchez-Recarte told Just Drinks that while a 15% levy is better than the higher tariffs that had previously been on the table, it was “still extremely disruptive”.
“Couple it with the exchange rate, we’re talking about maybe 25%, even 30% reduction of our turnover, [an] immediate drop of 10% of our exports to over there”, he said.
Just Drinks has also contacted spiritsEurope for comment.
