President Donald Trump has warned France must scrap a 3% tech “sales tax” or face 100% tariffs on U.S. imports of its wines and champagne, the NY Post reported Monday.
The president issued the threat ahead of this week’s G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.
“I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France,” Trump told the Post.
The digital services tax, approved by French lawmakers in 2019, involves a 3% levy on gross revenues generated in France by large technology companies, including U.S. giants such as Amazon, Meta and Alphabet.
Exports to the U.S. make up about one-fifth of the French wine industry’s total global sales, at about $2 billion annually.
It is not the first time the Trump administration has targeted France’s wine industry with retaliatory measures.
In 2019, the U.S. raised the possibility of imposing hefty charges on tech imports, including wine, in response to the then-new levy, which it said was discriminatory against U.S. companies.
In January this year, Trump said he would use a 200% tariff on French wines and champagne to force Macron to join his Board of Peace initiative.
CNBC has approached the French government for comment.
