Will the United States soon tax French wine? Facebook, Amazon and other digital giants had an appointment Monday in Washington to protest the GAFA tax, voted by France in July. The United States is preparing its response. Among the reprisals evoked, Donald Trump would like to tax French wine.
What the American president wants is to attack a symbol of France. "They tax our digital flagships, so we're going to tax their wine!" : that is, in substance, what decided the tenant of the White House. According to the Bloomberg news agency, Donald Trump has even mentioned privately a 100% tax on French bottles, as early as next week. So ... will this tax come to light or is it simply a pressure stroke?
Nearly 2 billion euros a year for French winemakers
On the side of the winemakers, we remain cautious as long as nothing is decided. Some still follow this threat very closely. This is the case of Vincent Caillé, producer of Muscadet near Nantes. Nearly 10% of its production goes to the United States each year. "Of course, I wish that there is no additional tax, it is well taxed.We move every year to the United States to improve the business.If the doors are closed, indeed, we invest elsewhere" says the winegrower. "It's very heavy for small winemakers like us to move, so we really have to maximize the commitments."
The threat is all the more serious as the United States is our largest importer of wine (by value), ahead of the United Kingdom and Germany. Americans are particularly fond of Bordeaux, Val-de-Loire wines and champagne. Last year, US imports yielded 1.7 billion euros to French winemakers.