ViniPortugal today urged the European Commission to continue diplomatic and negotiation efforts with the United States to reverse a 15% customs duty on wines, a critical market for national exports.
“ViniPortugal is deeply disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations, as this measure will severely affect exports to the US, an essential market for Portuguese wines,” stressed the national wine sector association in a statement.
The entity thus considered it “crucial that the European Commission continues diplomatic and negotiation efforts to reverse these tariffs and safeguard the interests of European producers.”
On Thursday, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic announced that the bloc failed to reach an agreement with the US for tariff exemptions for wine products, especially claimed by Italy and France.
Like most European Union products, wine will suffer a 15% customs increase to enter the US market.
“The impact will be particularly severe for low-end wines, which represent the majority of Portuguese exports to the US,” pointed out ViniPortugal, explaining that “these consumers are more sensitive to price variations, so it is estimated that the market decline could exceed 20%, with significant consequences for the entire sector.”
According to data released by the association, in the first six months of this year, there was a 6.90% decrease in value and a 2.28% drop in volume in exports to the US compared to the same period last year, figures that could be worsened by the implementation of the new tariff.
“This situation is even more concerning when we consider that countries like Chile, Argentina, or Australia face only 10% tariffs and therefore can reach the market with more competitive prices,” highlighted ViniPortugal.
