Tariffs will have “a huge impact” on Portugal’s wine sector, says association
Orders of Douro wine for the US market have been cancelled/ suspended even before the tariffs announced yesterday by President Trump come into effect.
António Filipe, president of AEVP, the Association of Port Wine Companies, told Lusa today that “several orders” have been put on hold “awaiting clarification” as to what exactly everything means.
He stressed the situation was prompted two weeks ago, after President Trump threatened to apply 200% tariffs on alcohol imported from the European Union “so that the shipments wouldn’t be caught in transit, and unexpectedly have to pay taxes on entry…”
As such, yesterday’s announcement of 20% tariffs (and 25% on all foreign cars) was considerably less than threatened, but still devastating. As Filipe explains, the US is the largest market for European wines (taking 28% of the total value of EU wine exports last year, representing almost €5 billion). “It’s impossible to think that in a year we will be operating in other markets and that we will be able to replace what we have lost in the US fully”.
The US market is in the “top five”, i.e. the top five export markets for wines produced in the Douro Demarcated Region, in terms of quantity and value, he added.
In 2024, around €36 million worth of Port was exported to the US, translating into an increase of 6.5% compared to 2023.
The North American market also accounted for a turnover of around €5.6 million in terms of Denomination of Controlled Origin (DOC) Douro wines.
But beyond the effects on costs/ prices, the new tariffs could end up putting consumers off, which is another side to the uncertainty.
In António Filipe’s mindset what is needed now is a ‘de-escalation’, rather than plans of retaliation – but response is being left in the hands of the European Commission which does not appear in any mind to accept Mr Trump’s recipe for Making America Great Again. ND
Source material: LUSA etc
