The European Commission (EC) has proposed a range of “targeted” measures to help secure Europe’s wine sector against surplus production, cross-border trade barriers, and extreme weather events with enhanced funding. While industry associations have welcomed the EC’s policy package, they maintain the measures could “fall short” if the ongoing trade tensions between the EU and the US spill over to the wine sector. EU wine producers have faced long-time challenges amid a dip in overall alcohol consumption, increased production costs, and climate shocks. Moreover, trade disputes between the EU and the US have stoked fears of further uncertainty, with US President Donald Trump threatening to impose a 200% tariff on all EU wines and alcoholic products if the EU does not reconsider planned levies on US whisky.
