With the global health crisis and US taxes, the wine sector is in the red. To respond to this situation, the executive decided to grant aid to French viticulture. "The government will make exemptions from social security contributions for very small and very small businesses in the wine sector and is setting up a crisis distillation device of 140 million euros", announced Monday evening, without further details , the Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
The professionals did not succeed
However, these measures will not necessarily make professionals smile again. They are indeed lower, at least for distillation, than what the industry demanded last week. The viticulturalists asked for the authorization of a distillation of crisis "of at least three million hectoliters of wine in surplus" for a budget of "260 million euros including the distillers", after the fall in consumption due to the closings cafes and restaurants and declining exports to the United States. This distillation must in particular be used to make hydroalcoholic gel.
In general, Bernard Farges, president of the Interprofessional Council for Bordeaux Wine (CIVB), spoke of "clear but insufficient answers for the moment", calling on the government to take "several more steps". According to him, "today, two million hectoliters are announced by the ministers. We are saying that it takes three million hectoliters to support the markets and make it possible to restart a campaign in less difficult situations ”. "On the exemptions from charges, it is still unclear, we must work more, examine the needs," he added, referring to "difficulties that accumulate each month" for companies.
Dealing with American taxes
To procrastinate, the Ministry of Agriculture insisted on recalling that the negotiations are not completely finished: "the ministers insisted on the fact that the proposed plan is a first step and that there will be a clause of revoyure organized in the next few weeks to strengthen the plan if necessary, in particular via additional aid to the distilleries ”. Finally, Bruno Le Maire spoke of France's intention to renew its request to Europe for a “compensation fund” to support the wine sector, in the face of the 25% customs duties put in place last October by the United States on French, Spanish and German wines of less than 14 degrees, in retaliation for the transatlantic aviation conflict.
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