Happy hour over as tough 15% Trump tariffs hit EU wine and spirits in hours and Harris holds NI talks

The Irish Sun

7 days ago

EUROPEAN wine and spirits face a 15 per cent US import tariff as Donald Trump's new ­levies kick in on Friday.
The European Union was tonight pushing to get more exemptions as the
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EU wine and spirits will be slapped with new 15% tariffs
Credit: Getty
A trade deal between Brussels and Washington was
Brussels defended the trade deal, insisting it is half the 30 per cent threatened.
EU officials had hoped some sectors would be exempted from the tariffs.
READ MORE IN TARIFFS
But they admitted European wine and spirits are set for the tough import tax for the time being.
The EU Commission's trade spokesperson Olof Gill said booze will be battered by the levies until a different deal is agreed in talks expected to continue in the autumn.
He said: 'It is not our expectation that wine and spirits will be included as an exemption in the first group announced by the US tomorrow. And therefore that sector will be captured by the 15 per cent ceiling.'
After the EU-US trade deal was agreed in Scotland at the weekend, key wine producing countries had issued pleas to spare the cherished sector.
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And Gill vowed: 'The Commission remains determined to achieve and secure the maximum number of carve-outs, including for traditional EU products such as wine and spirits.'
Worried wine-makers said the tariff, even if temporary, will badly hurt the sector.
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Ignacio Sanchez Recarte, secretary general of wine producers group CEEV, said the tax will 'cause significant economic losses not only for EU wine producers but also for US businesses involved throughout the supply chain'.
He added: 'When combined with the currency shift in the USD/EUR exchange rate, the overall financial burden on the sector could reach 30 per cent.
'Investments will be halted and export volumes will decline while waiting for the final agreement.'
ISLAND FEARS
Tanaiste Simon Harris this evening held talks with the leaders of the Northern Ireland Executive on trade deals with the US.
A focus of the talks was the prospect of two different tariff rates being applied on the island, which Harris has warned will pose 'huge complexities' for businesses.
Exports from Northern Ireland into the US are subject to a 10 per cent levy, under a separate deal made between the UK and the US.
The talks with Northern Ireland politicians come ahead of a trade forum of business stakeholders in Government Buildings in Dublin on Friday.
The forum has been called to map out Ireland's response to the announcement that 15 per cent tariffs will be applied on EU goods.
A spokesperson for Mr Harris said: 'With a lower tariff rate of 10 per cent announced for the UK, the Tanaiste will seek the views of stakeholders as to the scale of the challenge that would be posed by two different rates.'