SPOKANE, Wash. — President Donald Trump is standing firm on his 200% tariff on alcohol from the European Union, an impact you can expect to feel in the next few weeks.
Spokane wine stores are raising concerns, saying the proposed tariff can impact more than just what’s in your glass.
John Allen, the owner of Vino Wine Shop, has been serving customers for nearly 30 years. He says international wine, mostly from Europe, makes up about a third of the store’s product.
“200%, that’s four times the money for the same bottle of wine,” said Allen. “I can’t afford to put that in my store. No way to buy it.”
Allen said if he can no longer fill his shelf with these wines, the impacts will reach well beyond the consumer.
“The people who are selling wine like we are in restaurants, grocery, small wine shops, all of us are affected there. But beyond that, the people who deliver the wine to us, the whole delivery system that gets those wines into the country. They will all be affected. So there’ll be people who lose their jobs. They’ll be people who lose their businesses.”
Wanderlust Delicato also says since a majority of its wine comes from Europe, and this tariff could put a serious strain on business and shelves.
“Unfortunately I can’t absorb that cost so I’m just going to have to be even smarter about how I’m buying and where from,” said owner Amber Park.
All they can do now is wait and hope the wines don’t slowly disappear from their shelves.
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