President Donald Trump’s declaration that he’s going to slap a 200% tariff on all European alcoholic beverages has caused a ton of anxiety among South Florida liquor and wine sellers.
The wine and spirits industry needs a drink.
President Donald Trump’s declaration that he’s going to slap a 200% tariff on all European alcoholic beverages has caused a ton of anxiety among South Florida liquor and wine sellers.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE“And this wine here I sell for $69, this would go up to $150 to $160 – somebody gonna pay that for this?” asked Richard Stelter, the owner of The Best Cellar, a wine shop in Wilton Manors.
He said 200% tariffs on European wines and spirits will decimate the business.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
“Because there’s no way I can afford to pay those prices wholesale,” Stelter said. “My customers are not gonna be able to afford that, they’re not affording it at the price they are right now, can you imagine if they doubled or tripled?”
Stelter said the tariffs at that level “would destroy” wine shops like his.
The owner of Primo Liquors, which has six locations in Broward County, told us panic buying is a thing right now in his industry.
“We did just make a half-a-pallet purchase of some luxury Bordeauxs and some nicer, sought-after vintages just to get ahead of it,” said Kaushal Karia, Primo’s owner. “We haven’t really acted in a big way, but we’ve started to buy a little more than we would because again, we don’t know how much of it is a reality yet.”
So that’s his basic strategy to get ahead of the tariffs.
“Our best-selling items, we’re buying more than a two to three-month supply, just in case they get imposed overnight,” Karia said about the tariffs.
“And Italian restaurants and French restaurants,” Stelter added, “are really gonna be hurting and those wines, you need those wines to go with the food when you go to restaurants because it pulls the flavor out and it’s what life’s all about.”
That’s why everyone in the wine and spirits industry is hoping Trump is just bluffing and that the 200% tariff will never actually come to fruition. If it does, American wines, beers, and whiskies will be waiting on the shelf, at a much lower price.
