COLORADO SPRINGS — President Donald Trump said he will impose a 200% tariff on alcohol from Europe if the European Union goes forward with a 50% tariff on American whiskey.
He said on Truth Social, "This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S."
Some local wine stores say they already have too many things to handle right now. They say the wine industry has been struggling.
"We specialize in European imported wines," said Andrew Yun, Manager of Pine Creek Wine & Spirits.
Yun says if the tariff goes into effect, it could impact his business significantly. He says he understands why President Trump wants to impose the tariff, but he's worried about whether imposing a 200% tariff will become a reality.
"Unfortunately, you know, we are already at razer-thin margins right now, so we are going to have to raise it (wines) again," said Yun.
The manager of the Wine Gallery store says this was not the first time the wine industry dealt with tariffs on wines.
The Trump administration imposed a 25% tariff on wines from France, Spain, and Germany in 2019. The manager says wine bottle prices went up then.
"You hope, just be that 25%... coming, just because we dealt with that once already," said Manager Justin Niven. "We know how to handle that."
Both store managers say they don't want wine prices to rise. They say they are watching the situation closely right now.
"It's just a threat. We don't know if it's going to be in place yet," said Niven.
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New video shows the moment Pueblo Police were involved in a shoot-out Tuesday evening
New video shows the moment Pueblo Police were involved in a shoot-out Tuesday evening.
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