Trump threatens France with 100 percent tariff on its wines

The US President Donald Trump has threatened France with a 100% tariff on wine if Paris does not repeal its 3% digital tax on the revenues of American tech giants.

He said this in an interview with The New York Post.

Trump said he directly conveyed this warning to French President Emmanuel Macron.

"I asked him not to tax American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to impose a 100% tariff on all champagne and all wine from France. All he has to do is remove this tax, and then there wonʼt be this pressure," the US president says.

This ultimatum sets the stage for a tough showdown at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France — the annual meeting of the worldʼs seven richest democracies, where the rules of global trade, security and economic policy are set.

His comments also refute claims from Macronʼs office that the two countries had quietly settled a long-standing dispute over the taxation of technology companies.

A source close to the French president previously stated that the issue was "no longer being discussed" among the G7 countries, but the American side immediately denied this as "inaccurate information".

Franceʼs digital tax, known as the GAFAM tax, has been in effect since 2019. It levies a 3% levy on the revenues of big tech companies like Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta and Apple. Because the tax is based on revenue, not profits, it hits American tech giants particularly hard and generated about $700 million in revenue for France last year.

Tensions escalated in October when the French parliament even voted to double the tax to 6% and narrow its scope to only the largest global companies, but the government ultimately blocked it.

The US is the largest and most important export market for the French wine industry. American consumers account for around $2 billion (or 20%) of global French wine sales, while Champagne accounts for 20%.

• The US President Donald Trump reported on April 2, 2025, that he would impose tariffs on goods from other countries. The new tariffs will apply to more than 180 countries and territories (not including Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Belarus, which are already under sanctions).
• In February, he raised global tariffs to 15%. He has also regularly imposed individual tariffs on specific countries, demanding economic concessions.
• Trumpʼs critics accuse him of exceeding his authority when he imposed the tariffs, and the US Supreme Court in February even ruled most of Trumpʼs tariffs illegal.

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