Sorbets (France) (AFP)

At Château de Laubade, in south-west France, as with other armagnac exporters, the American surcharge of + 25% on their finest bottles is struggling to pass.

"We are worried, the United States is our first market, a very dynamic market which represents 35% of our sales", breathes François Laura, the manager of this family property, located in Bas Armagnac, a land which s 'stretches from the Gers to the Landes.

Producers deplore being "held hostage" in a transatlantic conflict over public aid to aeronautics.

"Diplomacy must get us out of this dispute which does not concern us, we are collateral victims", pleads Olivier Goujon, the director of the National Interprofessional Office of Armagnac (BNIA).

The big brother cognac is also affected, but to a lesser degree, by these American reprisals.

"We are sounding the alarm, because we fear for our sales. After the announcement of the new tax, orders ready to go to the United States have been canceled," said the boss of the company in a concerned tone. he interprofessional organization, based in Eauze, a small Gascon town where we find the first mention of armagnac, in a document from 1310 which extols its 40 virtues.

- Historical market -

For the Armagnac industry, the United States is "a historic market, precious for us, lovers of spirits, bottles over 10 years old, vintages, products with high added value, the Holy Grail of our appellation, a symbol of the French art of living ", explains Olivier Goujon.

Since January 12, one of the last rounds of the Trump administration, the United States has imposed a new tax which, for example, makes the price of a bottle of armagnac jump from 100 to 125 dollars, a tax that already affected wines since October 2019, but not the champagne.

The seven cellars of Château de Laubade, which exports to 50 countries, contain around 2,500 barrels of 400 liters of Armagnacs of all ages.

The Norman-style castle, built in the 19th century, is surrounded by 100 hectares of vines, in particular Baco, the emblematic grape of the appellation, very resistant.

Above the cellar master's office, a staircase leads to "Paradise", a room of around thirty square meters where the nuggets of the estate belonging to the Lesgourgues family, which also owns, are aged in demijohns (round bottles). a castle in Bordeaux (Graves), another in Madiran and a distribution company in New York.

The jewel of the collection is a vintage from 1888.

- Hope Biden -

Five million bottles of this artisanal, amber-colored digestif of at least 40 degrees are sold each year, far less than the giant cognac.

And for three years, exports have exceeded sales in France.

"This internationalization allows better promotion of an authentic local product, with a strong reputation and a strong identity", underlines the representative of the inter-profession.

Sales of armagnac to the United States constitute 15% of the total volume of exports, but 25% in value, because it is essentially the top of the range.

China is the main foreign customer with the United States.

In the United States, traders and distributors have also come up against the surcharge.

The players in the sector are trying to share the loss of margin so that the price for consumers is not too impacted.

Hoping it doesn't last.

"We hope that the arrival in power of Jo Biden will make it possible to change the situation," says François Laura.

On January 17, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for a moratorium on surcharges on French and German products.

For their part, cognacs and armagnacs are also lobbying.

In 2020, a difficult year, strong sales in the United States "mitigated the effects of the health crisis," notes Laubade cellar master Mickaël Beau.

The production of armagnac requires time and patience.

An Armagnac distilled in December 2020 will only be marketed between 2026 or 2035.

"We have a particular time relationship, but this tax is untenable over time," warns the director of Château de Laubade.

© 2021 AFP