26-03-2025
Italian Prosecco producers halt US exports over fears of new alcohol tariffs
US-bound shipments of Prosecco – one of Italy's biggest wine exports – have been suspended in recent days following US threats to impose 200-percent levies on wine and spirits imported from Europe amid growing trade tensions between Washington and Brussels.
"Our production system has been experiencing the suspension of shipments to the US market for a few days now,' winemaker consortiums Prosecco Doc, Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Docg and Asolo Prosecco Docg said in a letter addressed to Italy's Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
'The decision to freeze orders was made due to the current uncertainty, [...] considering that our wines – which take several weeks to reach the US – could see tariffs rise up to 200 percent during the journey between Italy and America,' they said.
Such a scenario would 'throw our [US] importers into a crisis' but would also have 'severe repercussions on the exporting companies," they added.
Earlier this month, the US threatened to hit Europe's wine and spirits sector with 200-percent tariffs after the EU announced a series of levies intended as 'countermeasures' against previous American tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
The first set of EU countermeasures had originally been scheduled to come into force on April 1st, but the date was pushed to mid-April last week to allow for further negotiations between the parties.
Should the US ultimately make good on its threats to impose 200-percent tariffs on alcohol imports, Italian winemakers, including Prosecco producers, would suffer heavy 'financial and social repercussions,' the consortiums said.
Losing the American market would require producers to 'find alternative countries to place these products, which, in an emergency, would certainly lead to a sharp decrease in their value,' they added.
The Prosecco Doc consortium alone exports around 130 million bottles to the US every year, generating some €500 million in revenue, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.
The Asolo Prosecco Docg also relies heavily on the American market, exporting approximately 75 percent of its production to the US.
The three Italian consortiums said that the 'gravity of the situation' called for 'appropriate measures' – both at a national and European level – to protect national winemakers, but didn't provide further details regarding potential courses of action.
Wine exports to the US are estimated to generate a total revenue of around €2 billion for Italian producers, according to Il Corriere della Sera.
