Tariff uncertainty grips French winemakers

BORDEAUX, France — French wine producers still do not know how bitter a taste the U.S. tariffs on wine will leave on their palates.

In southwestern France, around the Bordeaux region's famed vineyards, months of talk on what United States President Donald Trump will decide on tariffs have been the stuff of nightmares for producers as they look on helplessly.

The U.S. is by far the top export market for Bordeaux's wine, accounting for 400 million euros ($467 million) in annual sales, or around 20 percent of the total.

Sunday's announcement of a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union did not clear up what tariffs European wine and spirits producers will face in the U.S..

While Trump stated that European exports would face 15 percent tariffs across the board, both sides agreed that there would be carve-outs for certain sectors.

Philippe Tapie, chairman of the traders' union Bordeaux Negoce, which represents more than 90 percent of the wine trade in the Bordeaux area, is worried by the uncertainty.

"One day, it is white, the next it is black — the U.S. administration can change its mind from one day to the next and we have no visibility," he told AFP.

In mid-March, Trump had threatened the EU with 200 percent tariffs on alcohol in response to a proposed tax on U.S. bourbon.

Then, in April, he issued a new threat of a 20 percent across-the-board on EU products, a threat ultimately suspended.

Since then, the level was first held at 10 percent, but in late May, Trump threatened to revert to 50 percent before pivoting to 30 percent starting Aug 1.

"At 10 percent or 15 percent, we'll find solutions. At 30 percent, no. End of story," Tapie warned as he criticized a "totally unpredictable American administration".

To export wine, "there's a minimum of 30 days by boat", he said. "If you go to California, it's 60 days. We can't think in terms of weeks."

Twins Bordeaux, one of Bordeaux's leading wine merchants, also laments the tariffs' effect.

"The American market represents about a third of our turnover, or around 30 million euros," said Sebastien Moses, co-director and co-owner of Twins.

Since January, "our turnover must have fallen by 50 percent compared to last year", he said.