President Donald Trump warned on Monday that the US will 'have no choice' but to apply 100% tariffs on French wine unless Paris eliminates its digital tax on American tech giants. According to reports from Reuters, Trump said he delivered the warning directly to French President Emmanuel Macron, demanding he remove the 3% tax on US tech giants or face duties in the American market. The President told the New York Post in an interview that he asked 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.' As per The Post, Trump stated that 'All [Macron] has to do is get rid of the sales tax, and he wouldn't have that kind of pressure.' The White House and Elysee officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the latest developments.
The potential tariff threat comes as the US market accounts for roughly one-fifth of French wine exports, worth more than $2 billion annually, making the threat potentially significant for the industry, according to The Post. According to Reuters, alcohol is among the EU's top exports to the US, worth about €9 billion in 2024, with certain products like Remy Martin cognac and champagne required to be produced in specific European regions. Currently, wines and spirits exported to the US from the EU face a 15% tariff, a rate the French have been lobbying hard to reduce to zero since Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed a US-EU trade deal in Scotland last summer. The French digital tax applies a 3% levy since 2019 on revenue from digital services earned in France by companies with revenues of more than €25 million there and €750 million worldwide. According to France's finance ministry, the tax generated about $700 million last year. The threat sets up a potential flashpoint at the G7 summit currently underway in Evian-les-Bains, France, which runs until Wednesday.
Trump is due to arrive in France's Evian-les-Bains for a gathering of the Group of Seven wealthy nations, as reported by Reuters. He will be greeted by Macron, for whom this summit serves as a diplomatic capstone for his second and final term in office, which draws to a close next year. The dispute is expected to feature prominently at the G7 summit, where leaders of the world's largest advanced economies will meet to discuss trade, security, and global economic policy. The timing of the tariff threat adds complexity to the diplomatic proceedings as global leaders are increasingly wary of the United States. This year's G7 agenda would revolve around international trade, security and economic issues, with France assuming the G7 presidency in 2026, succeeding Canada.
According to Reuters, Trump has threatened a 200% tariff on wine and other alcoholic beverages imported from France and the EU before, including in January this year and last year in March as transatlantic trade tensions escalated. The current warning represents an escalation in the ongoing trade disputes between the US and European allies over digital taxation policies. Trump's comments also contradict claims from Macron's office that the digital tax dispute had been effectively resolved, with a senior French source recently saying the issue was 'no longer up for debate' among G7 partners, a claim a U.S. official dismissed as 'not accurate.' The Trump administration previously signaled a possible 100% tariff response during a 2019 U.S. trade investigation into the tax, with a White House memo from February 2025 reiterating that U.S. firms would not 'prop up failed foreign economies through extortive fines and taxes.' Earlier this year, Trump warned of imposing 200% tariffs on French wines and champagnes after Macron reportedly declined to join his Gaza 'Board of Peace' initiative.
France has become increasingly isolated on the digital tax issue, as Canada dropped its digital tax in 2025 after U.S. trade pressure, while Italy is considering repeal, according to The Post. The United Kingdom has retained its levy under current arrangements. In October, lawmakers voted to double the tax to 6% and focus it more narrowly on the largest global firms, though the proposal was later vetoed amid concerns it could trigger U.S. retaliation. Earlier this month, a report indicated that the EU is preparing stricter cloud-computing requirements for major public-sector contracts under its upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act, a move that could affect U.S. tech giants. The proposal aims to boost Europe's digital sovereignty, reduce reliance on U.S. providers, and address concerns that U.S. laws such as the Cloud Act could allow American authorities access to data stored overseas. French lawmakers previously voted 296–58 to double the tax to 6%, though the move was later vetoed by ministers, with a proposed 15% increase also being scaled back due to industry pressure. France's digital services tax, commonly known as the GAFAM tax, has been in place since 2019 and levies a 3% charge on local revenues of large technology companies, including Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Apple.
