On Monday, the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance held a Zoom meeting for its members.
Nearly 500 people attended — winery owners and executives, wine retailers, restaurateurs and importers — all to discuss tariffs, a grim prospect that every seller of imported wine in the country will be facing come January. Tariffs are on the horizon for many imported products when President-elect Donald Trump takes office. They’re likely to include wine and spirits, products that are staples of restaurant and retail industries and in many cases are vital to their revenue streams.
USWTA representatives said its mission is to urge the administration to forgo wine tariffs, which would likely affect hundreds of thousands of small businesses — restaurants, retail shops, supermarkets and import companies. Many of “these are family-run businesses,” says Harmon Skurnik, whose company imports, distributes and sells wine in nine states. “My company is a family-run business.
“There’s a gross misperception in the country,” he adds. “The average American voter and consumer thinks that tariffs are paid by foreign countries. They’re not.
They’re paid by American businesses when the goods arrive at the port, and are passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. It’s not paid by foreign countries. It’s a tax.
” If you buy wine, in short, you’ll be footing the tariff bill. Keith Mabry, buyer of French regional wines for K&L Wine Merchants, began thinking about the prospect o.
