President Donald Trump has warned France to rescind its 3% digital services tax on U.S. tech companies or face a 100% tariff on its wine and champagne exports to the U.S. The threat, reported by the NY Post, precedes this week’s G7 summit in France and targets a tax impacting giants like Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet.
This move rekindles past trade tensions, potentially jeopardizing France’s approximately $2 billion annual wine sales to the U.S., a significant portion of its global exports.
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President Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to France, stating that the nation must abolish its 3% digital services tax on U.S. technology companies or face punitive 100% tariffs on French wine and champagne imports to the U.S.
This ultimatum comes just days before the highly anticipated G7 summit scheduled to take place in Évian-les-Bains, France, where global economic issues are expected to dominate discussions.
"I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France," Trump explicitly told the NY Post in an exclusive interview.
The controversial digital services tax, enacted by French lawmakers in 2019, imposes a 3% levy on gross revenues generated within France by large technology firms. This includes prominent U.S. giants such as Amazon, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Alphabet (Google's parent company).
The stakes are high for France's renowned wine industry, as exports to the U.S. constitute approximately one-fifth of its total global sales, amounting to roughly $2 billion annually.
This isn't the first instance of the Trump administration targeting French wine in response to economic disputes. In 2019, similar threats of hefty tariffs on various tech imports, including wine, were made following the initial approval of the digital levy, which the U.S. deemed discriminatory against its corporations.
More recently, in January of this year, Trump had also threatened a 200% tariff on French wines and champagnes, aiming to compel President Macron to join his "Board of Peace" initiative.
According to data from the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (France's customs service), cited by the American Association of Wine Economists (AAWE), French wine exports to the U.S. saw a 15.9% decline in value in 2025, falling to 1.9 billion euros ($2.2 billion) from 2.4 billion euros in 2024. The AAWE's LinkedIn post indicated uncertainty as to whether this downturn was a direct result of tariffs or a broader shift in consumer preferences towards more affordable wines.
CNBC has reportedly reached out to the French government for an official comment on the latest developments.
