China Slaps 15% Tariff On US Wine – Is Beer Next?

And so it begins…China has countered the Trump administration’s decision on Thursday to levy tariffs on about US$50 billion worth of Chinese imports.

According to the Drinks Business China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced it will impose tariffs on US$3 billion worth of American products including American wine, as the FIRST stage of retaliations in response to the American government’s decision to increase tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum products.

And with American wine exports to mainline China having seen a 10% increase last year, this is but one product of many that will no doubt feel the sting of China’s retaliation.

The ministry is targeting 128 different American products in seven categories ranging from fruits and nuts, to pork and stainless steel pipes.

American wine was among 120 products that would be the first to be hit with the 15% tariff.

For the remaining products such as pork and recyclable aluminum, the country is going to impose a 25% tariff just to ensure that these international trade sanctions stay ugly.

What this all means to companies like Stone Brewing, who recently launched an uninterrupted cold chain delivery system orchestrated from their home base in San Diego, allowing the brewery to import their brand to mainland China is anyone’s guess…But as relations chill between the two international powers we’ve got to think that it can’t be good.

And although beer exports to China pale in comparison to wine, interest in the world’s #1 beer market has been growing with American brewers such as Stone…but that interest has probably been put ‘on-hold’ as international trade relations sour.

“China does not want to fight a trade war, but it is absolutely not afraid of a trade war,” the ministry said in the statement. But one thing’s for sure President Trump is not a fan of China’s trade practices so things are going to get increasingly rocky for a lot of American imports and that might even include beer..