Trump threatens 200% tariffs on wine and champagne from the EU

Donald Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on wine and champagne from European Union countries, in the latest escalation in the global trade war started by the US president against America's biggest trading partners.

- Jasper Jolly Angelique Chrisafis Paris

Trump said in a post yesterday on his Truth Social platform that the tariffs on all alcohol products from the bloc would be retaliation for a "nasty" 50% levy on American bourbon whiskey announced by the EU.

The EU's action against bourbon whiskey - due to come into force on 1 April - was itself part of a €26bn response to Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, which came into effect on Wednesday.

Trump claims the US's trading partners have taken advantage of the US and that tariffs will help him to bring back jobs - a theory that is roundly rejected by most mainstream economists.

The tariffs on the EU, Canada, Mexico and China - and those imposed in retaliation - threaten to tip the US economy into recession, and Trump has admitted there may be a "period of transition" while businesses start producing more in the US.

The White House has so far shrugged off the concerns of investors, after Trump's tariff announcements were greeted with heavy stock market sell-offs that have wiped out all of the share price gains since his election in November.