Trump threatens 100% tariff on French wine unless Paris scraps digital tax, ahead of G7 summit

The renewed threat

On Monday, 15 June, Donald Trump warned in an interview with the New York Post that the United States would be left with "no choice" but to impose 100% tariffs on French wines and champagnes. The target was France's digital services tax, a levy on large tech companies that Paris has so far refused to abandon. The threat lands just as the US president arrives in the French Alps for a G7 summit.

If they do it, I will have no other choice.

A long-running dispute

The standoff over the French tax is not new. Le Figaro notes the tug-of-war has persisted for several years. The 3% tax applies to revenue from digital services generated in France, hitting American technology firms whose European headquarters often sit in low-tax jurisdictions. French president Emmanuel Macron has already stated the tax, which brings hundreds of millions of euros into state coffers annually, will not be withdrawn.

It is not the United States that decides.

Economic stakes

French alcohol exports are heavily dependent on the American market. According to Le Figaro, sales of French alcoholic beverages fell by 21% in the United States last year, attributed to previous tariffs imposed by the Republican administration. The threat of additional levies directly targets a sector already under pressure.

Industry reaction

Michel-Édouard Leclerc, head of the E. Leclerc retail group's strategic committee, cautioned against escalation, pointing to the economic ties and mutual dependency between the two countries.

In France, we like Americans and the American myth. Donald Trump should be careful.

The champagne target

For months, the wine and spirits industry has operated under the shadow of punitive tariff threats. L'Opinion reports that French wines and champagne are a "preferred target" of the American president, with champagne representing a particularly symbolic and high-value segment of exports. The industry has already borne the cost of previous duties and faces fresh uncertainty as the G7 convenes.