How wine tariffs could hurt Oregon's vintners
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With the threat of massive tariffs on European wine looming, some Oregon winemakers are warning the move could hurt local vintners.
Why it matters: Oregon has consistently ranked among the top producers of wine in the country and tariffs levied abroad could drive up prices here, even on domestically produced wines.
What they're saying: "Wine shouldn't be a pawn in international push-and-shove trade competition — it should represent a celebratory, sustainable product that brings us together at the table," Harry Peterson-Nedry, the founder of Ribbon Ridge Winery in Newberg, told Axios.
- The retaliatory nature of tariffs would eventually "damage the prosperity of all wine regions," he told Axios.
- "This damage is not only to winery producers, but consumers and the broader network of businesses such as restaurants, retailers and distributors," he said.
Case in point: Some Oregon winemakers are already seeing their products pulled from Canadian shelves as President Trump continues to threaten separate tariffs and annexation.
- Alex Sokol Blosser, president of Sokol Blosser Winery, told KGW his company spent years forging business relationships in Canada that have been put on hold.
- "All that business we worked for, and the president lit a match to it," he said.
Catch up quick: Last week, the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, prompting retaliation from top trading partners like Canada and the European Union.
- The EU quickly reimposed previously suspended counter-measures, including 50% tariffs on American whiskey as of April 1.
- Trump responded, threatening a 200% tariff on European wine and Champagne if the whiskey levy wasn't removed.
- "This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.," Trump posted on Truth Social.
By the numbers: Oregon produced more than 17 million gallons of wine in 2023, behind only California, New York and Washington, per the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
- In 2022, the wine industry contributed an estimated $8 billion to Oregon's economy, according to a Travel Oregon report released last year.
- Nearly 40,000 people worked in the industry that year, the report said, with the biggest concentration in the northern Willamette Valley.
Reality check: Tariffs of the magnitude Trump has threatened would be catastrophic for wine importers, industry insiders tell Axios' Felix Salmon.
- The threat of these tariffs are almost certainly part of what a White House official has characterized to Axios as "the art of the deal" — a negotiating position rather than an attempt to kill a whole industry.
- French politicians are already suggesting walking back the proposed tariff on U.S. whiskey, which triggered Trump's initial response.