United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 200 per cent tariff on alcohol from European Union (EU) countries.
Gatekeepers News reports that the president issued the threat in retaliation to the region’s “nasty 50% tariff on whisky” from US.
The US president had before this, imposed a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium coming into the country.
In response, the EU announced plans to increase its levies on up to $28bn worth of US goods, including boats, bourbon and motorbikes, from April 1.
Reacting to EU’s countermeasures, Trump announced that he will introduce additional levies.
He said the White House would be “doing reciprocal tariffs so whatever they charge us with, we’re charging them. Nobody can complain about that”.
Trump warned if the 50 per cent tariff is not removed immediately, the US tariff will target all wines, Champagnes and alcoholic products coming out of EU represented countries.
He added, “This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the US.0
According to Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president; the response was intended to be “strong but proportionate”, and added that the EU stood “ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue”.
She said, “Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business and worse for consumers.”
“Nobody needs that – on both sides, neither in the European Union nor in the United States.”
The European Commission president cautioned that the economic disruption threatened jobs and would drive prices up.
