The Drinks Business
18 January 2021 By db staff
On Wednesday, Joe Biden is scheduled to become the 46th President of the United States. With the passing of power to a Democrat in the White House backed by a Congress controlled by that party, European wine and spirit producers are hopeful of an upturn in their fortunes.
What they want is an end to the 20-year transatlantic tariff war rooted in the dispute over subsidies to Airbus and Boeing.
Both Brussels and Washington proclaim their innocence, the World Trade Organisation has unhelpfully found for both sides and the resulting friction has led to tit-for-tat duty penalties, especially under Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ policies.
PARIS (AFP) For the last decade, owners of cognac distilleries have seen their sales more than double to the United States, making their spirit one of France’s fastest-growing major exports. Then Donald Trump came along.
While the French are small-time drinkers of cognac, Americans consume almost one in two bottles produced in the vineyards north of Bordeaux thanks in part to the alcohol being promoted by U.S. rappers as a symbol of wealth and luxury.
And while millionaires like Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z will still be able to afford their beloved “yak,” many other Americans might find it out of reach after U.S. import tariffs of 25% come into force on Tuesday.