On March 12, 2025, president Donald Trump’s administration implemented a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports to the United states.(The guardian.com) This move aims to protect American metal producers but has raised concerns about increased costs for various industries and consumers.
In response, the EU announced Their decision to raise taxes on American whiskey by 50% starting April 2025. The EU is doing this because the US already puts taxes on European steel and aluminium. In the past when similar whiskey taxes were put in place, U.S whiskey sales to Europe dropped by 20% hurting American whiskey. After Trump’s new tariff threats, big european alcohol companies, like LVMH and Pernod Ricard, saw their stock prices fall.
The distilled spirits council, a U.S group representing liquor markers, is worried. They believe these taxes could hurt American business, increase prices for customers, and cause job losses. They want a deal between the U.S. and the EU to remove these taxes.
European leaders are also concerned . Ireland’s leader Micheal Martin, warned that higher tariffs could make things more expensive and hurt both consumers and business. This is part of a pattern of trade policies under trump. Earlier this year, the U.S. also put a 25% tax on products from Canada and Mexico, saying it was to control immigration and drug trafficking. As we see this string of events go on we will just have to wait and see what happens next.