Last week, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that they would keep in place the 25 percent tariff on imported wine and cheese products from the European Union. U.S. cheese and wine businesses have taken a sharp hit since the retaliatory tariffs initially took effect in October, and this continuation will assuredly not help improve their situation.
The Trump Administration imposed the tariffs in retaliation for subsidies to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The U.S. is targeting the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Spain, countries where Airbus planes are built, but American importers, especially in areas like wine, say they are the ones bearing the brunt of the trade war.