President Donald Trump has warned the US will “have no choice” but to apply 100 per cent tariffs on French wine unless Paris eliminates its digital tax on American tech giants.
Trump said he delivered the warning directly to French President Emmanuel Macron, demanding he remove the three per cent tax on US tech giants or face duties in the American market.
“I asked him not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100 per cent tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France,” Trump told the New York Post in an interview.
“All (Macron) has to do is get rid of the sales tax, and he wouldn’t have that kind of pressure.”
The White House and Elysee officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Exports to the US make up about one fifth of the French wine industry’s total global sales, at about $US2 billion ($A2.8 billion) annually.
Alcohol is among the EU’s top exports to the US, worth about $US10.46 billion in 2024, according to Eurostat data, with certain products like Remy Martin cognac and champagne required to be produced in specific European regions.
France has applied a three per cent levy since 2019 on revenue from digital services earned by companies with revenues of more than 25 million euros ($A41 million) domestically and 750 million euros worldwide.