European Food and Wine Imports to US Up Before Trump’s Tariffs
Key takeaways
- Latest import data show a surge in specific products from Europe
- StoneX’s John Lancaster said EU dairy producers are high on Trump’s tariff list
- Dairy products in the top five agri-food products shipped from the EU to the US in 2023
Bloomberg reported that French winemakers and Irish dairy producers are exporting products into the US at an accelerated rate as Europe tries to lessen the potential impact of trade tariffs threatened against the region and its products by President Donald Trump.
During his candidacy for president in 2024, Trump had promised to rectify what he viewed as unfair treatment by the EU by enacting strict trade tariffs on European imports. To date, Trump has applied a 25% tariff on global steel and aluminum imports. Affected EU countries vowed countermeasures, to which Trump threatened reciprocal tariffs and potentially including VAT taxes without offering more information, causing some worry that other sectors, like food and wine, could be targets.
Around 236,000 tons of EU dairy products arrived in the US in 11 months through November. Wine shipments into the US were 18% higher than at the same time the year beore, as importers are seen building stock, concerned that Trump may apply future tariffs.
John Lancaster, StoneX Head of EMEA Dairy & Food Consulting, Dublin Dairy, said this situation should be no surprise. “The risk of US tariffs have been well sign posted in the runup to the presidential elections,”
Lancaster said. “Based on past form, European dairy producers would have known that they are likely high on the potential target list.” Lancaster said trade concerns are the main reason exports of specific categories, like Irish butter, have seen a significant increase recently. According to the most recent data, dairy products are in the top five agri-food products shipped from the EU to the US in 2023.
During the previous Trump administration the European wine industry lost an estimated one billion euros in sales with targeted trade measures. One winemaker has already shipped significantly more wine into the US to get ahead of the potential tariffs according to the Bloomberg report. While having to pay for warehousing and storage, the added expense for the winemaker is less than would be a 25% tax.
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Written by: Dan Morales
Expert: John Lancaster, Head of EMEA Dairy and Food Consulting, Dublin Dairy
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