Port exporters worried about Trump’s flip-flop tariff policies

The president of Casa do Douro highlighted tariffs between the United States and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday and emphasised that the flip-flop nature of US administration policies has influenced wine sales.

The trade agreement between the EU and the United States of America (USA), reached on Sunday, sets US customs tariffs on European products at 15%.

“We trust wine will remain outside this discussion. Officials may include it as an agri-food product, and we closely monitor this development because the US market plays a key role,” said Rui Paredes, speaking to journalists after a press conference in Peso da Régua, in the district of Vila Real.

He said he was concerned because the tariffs would affect wine sales from the Douro Demarcated Region.

“The tariffs could reduce purchases from winegrowers and decrease the benefit amount [the quantity of must used for the production of Port]. In other words, all this worries us, and it concerns us when the companies themselves or the American market are very attractive because it is a highly valued market.

It is by far the most valuable market we have in terms of exports,” he stressed.

Rui Paredes said that the Douro has been able to “tack” in search of the best markets for its wines, giving the example of what happened after the war between Russia and Ukraine.

“The Russian market used to buy a lot of Port. We chose to set our sails the other way. We arrived in the United States, and now we address the matter of taxes and the variability that accompanies them,” he explained.

For Rui Paredes, the key challenge remains “the inconsistency of the policies” of the administration led by Donald Trump, recalling that in April, with just the threat of a tax increase, wineries suspended or cancelled wine orders to the US.

Some business was later resumed; however, according to Rui Paredes, there is a long period between when the product leaves the operator or the winery and when it arrives in the United States.

“And during this period, they can decide to say, yes, now it’s 20%, or 30%, or 50%. And this is the instability that they create in the sector,” he warned.

Exports of Port to the US reached around €36 million in 2024, an increase of 6.5% compared to the previous year.

In terms of Douro Denominação de Origem Controlada (DOC) wines, the US market represented a turnover of around €5.6 million.

The agreement provides for a commitment by the EU to purchase US energy worth $750 billion (around €642 billion) – aimed in particular at replacing Russian gas – an additional investment of $600 billion (€514 billion), and an increase in military equipment purchases.

The US and EU countries trade around €4.4 billion in goods and services every day.