The Wall Street Journal

From Champagne to Bourbon, Alcohol Lands on Front Lines of Global Trade War

Trump threatens a 200% tariff on European alcohol

An employee removes Tito’s vodka at a Toronto store after the Liquor Control Board of Ontario pulled American booze from shelves.
An employee removes Tito’s vodka at a Toronto store after the Liquor Control Board of Ontario pulled American booze from shelves. Photo: Christopher Katsarov Luna/Bloomberg News

Alcohol has landed on the front lines of a global trade war, throwing French wines, Irish whiskeys, Kentucky bourbon, Japanese beer and Mexican tequila into the crossfire between the U.S. and its biggest trading partners.

In the Canadian province of Ontario, liquor stores have cleared their shelves of California wine and Tennessee whiskey, replacing them with local varieties and signs declaring: “For the good of Canada.” A restaurant wine director in Washington state is dreading the arrival of shipping containers full of European wine so expensive it’s unsellable. The Kentucky governor is pleading for the survival of his bourbon industry. And makers of American sparkling wines are poised to make a windfall. 

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