US importers drop orders in face of “terrible uncertainty”
With every day bringing another slant on the so-called reciprocal tariffs threatened by US president Donald Trump, the greatest damage so far has been done to Portuguese and wider European wine producers who have seen all their orders ‘stopped’ – even though the so-called ‘reciprocal’ tariffs have yet to be brought in.
Paulo Amorim, president of ANCEVE, the national association of traders and exporters of wines and spirits, explains: “We are unable to sell”.
The uncertainty as messages coming out of the White House change by the day, if not by the hour, is so “terrible”, he said, that the distribution chain in the United States has simply decided to stop.
“We are facing a terrible problem”, he admits – suggesting whatever eventually happens with these controversial new tariffs, the greatest losers will be wine producers. It is a “gigantic injustice”, he says.
Paulo Amorim gave the news after a meeting with the Minister of Economy and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, together with 16 other sectoral associations, in Lisbon, yesterday. In his view Portuguese wines need a “new Porter plan” (this referring to a plan brought in 30 years ago by PSD prime minister Cavaco Silva, to promote key sectors in Portugal), bearing in mind that “wine carries the name of Portugal far and wide”.
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the suspension of his so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ for 90 days, in order to allow countries to initiate negotiations. But since that announcement, so many other curved balls have joined the mix, that few (if any) know what is really going on. ND
Source material: Lusa
