The escalating tariff dispute between the European Union and the United States has expanded to the wine and spirits sector, sparking alarm among alcohol importers in America.
The European Commission announced on Wednesday to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products worth 26 billion euros starting April in response to the U.S. imposition of a 25 percent tariff on all imported steel and aluminum from the EU.
"Tariffs will be applied on products ranging from boats to bourbon to motorbikes," the commission said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on the next day threatened to "shortly place a 200 percent tariff on all wines, champagnes, and alcoholic products coming out of France and other EU represented countries."
In San Francisco, businesses selling European wines and spirits have expressed concern over Trump's tariff threat, warning it would drastically inflate consumer prices and cripple their operations.
The United States is a critical export destination for European alcohol producers, importing 13.12 billion euros' worth of beverage, spirit, and vinegar products from the EU in 2024, according to data from the International Trade Center.
According to Television France 1, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Thursday called on European wine-making nations to stand firmly together against the U.S. tariff threat
EU-US tit-for-tat tariffs alarm American wine importers
EU-US tit-for-tat tariffs alarm American wine importers
Nearly 100 Taiwan-invested enterprises in east China's Xiamen City have participated in the city's digital transformation scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, which significantly boosted production efficiency for the companies.
Xiamen is one of the inaugural cities in the country piloting the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Taiwan-invested companies that signed up for digital upgrades covered a wide range of industries including electronic devices, power transmission and distribution and medical instruments.
In the production workshop of a Taiwan-funded circuit board company, digital screens display real-time operations, intelligent robots transport materials, and automatic pickers can quickly match the missing raw materials in the production process. A seven-step production line requires only four technicians.
"They guided us in the digital system construction, process transformation, and some intelligent analysis. Our production efficiency has improved by about 10 percent to 15 percent," said Yang Zhijian, factory director of Junling Electronics (Xiamen) Company.
Some Taiwan-funded enterprises are also actively promoting the digital transformation of the industrial chain and supply chain.
"We have assisted more than 30 enterprises to complete digital assessment, and more than 20 enterprises to finish special transformation, effectively helping enterprises to solve the problems of low production efficiency and quality control," said Li Yong, consulting director of Youda Zhihui Intelligent Manufacturing (Xiamen) Company.
According to statistics, the average production cost after the transformation is reduced by 15 percent, and the management efficiency is also greatly improved.
"We are also encouraging these [digital] service providers to go global and take advantage of cross-strait exchanges and BRICS relations to help companies go overseas. We will also specifically organize supply and demand matching meetings between service providers and Taiwan-funded enterprises," said Song Luwen, director of Department of Small and Medium Enterprises under Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology.
Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation
Taiwan enterprises benefit from mainland's digital transformation
