Trump threatens France with 100% tariff on wine ahead of G7 summit
US President Donald Trump has warned France he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all champagne and wine if Paris does not abolish its digital services tax, just hours before the G7 summit opens in Evian on Monday.
The tariff threat
US President Donald Trump used an interview with the New York Post to deliver a stark ultimatum to France.
The demand is a direct message to President Emmanuel Macron, who hosts the annual G7 gathering from Monday. Trump insisted the French leader could avoid the penalty by scrapping the 3 percent charge.I asked him not to impose levies on American companies. If they do, I have no choice but to levy a 100 percent tariff on all champagne and wines from France.
Macron would only have to abolish the VAT, then he wouldn't be under this pressure.
The digital tax at issue
France introduced a 3 percent levy on revenues generated in the country from digital services in 2019. The tax targets companies whose French turnover exceeds €25 million and whose worldwide revenue tops €750 million, which means it mainly hits American technology groups including Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Washington has long opposed such levies, viewing them as a discriminatory squeeze on US firms.
- France introduces 3% digital services tax on large tech companies.
- Trump threatens 200% tariff on French wine after Paris refuses to join his Peace Council.
- Trump demands abolition of digital tax, warns of 100% tariff on French wine in New York Post interview.
- G7 summit begins in Evian, delayed one day for Trump's 80th birthday.
- Trump and Macron to attend Versailles dinner marking 250 years of American independence.
- EU expected to finalise 2025 tariff agreement this week; US threat could derail ratification.
Economic stakes
French wine and spirits exports to the United States are worth more than $2 billion a year, with 21 percent of the sector's foreign shipments going to the American market. Currently those imports face a 15 percent tariff. A 100 percent surcharge would amount to a severe blow for producers of Champagne, Bordeaux and Cognac. EU-wide, alcoholic beverage exports to the US totalled roughly €9 billion in 2024, according to Eurostat data.
G7 backdrop
The confrontation unfolds as Trump travels to the French lakeside town of Evian for the Group of Seven summit. The meeting's start was postponed by a day so the president could mark his 80th birthday at the White House, an event that featured mixed martial arts bouts. Trump later accepted Macron's invitation to a closing banquet at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday, which also commemorates the 250th anniversary of American independence. The French leader will be eager to keep his American counterpart engaged: Trump left the 2025 G7 summit in Canada early.
Wider trade implications
Trade policy is an EU competence, so punitive tariffs against France would likely trigger a bloc-wide response. The stand-off threatens to revive a transatlantic trade dispute just as European officials were preparing to finalise a tariff agreement negotiated in 2025. Trump has previously brandished the threat of a 200 percent duty on French wine, in January, after France declined to join his proposed Peace Council for settling international conflicts.
