And on fresh fruit, nuts. The move is in retaliation for President Trump’s aluminum tariffs.
The value of U.S. wine exports to China has increased 450% in the past decade, to $197 million, according to the Wine Institute.
The Wine Institute urged “all parties involved to resolve this dispute in a way that does not harm consumers or the hundreds of thousands of workers who rely on the wine industry for their livelihoods.”
The announcement didn’t indicate a specific date the tariffs would go into effect but gave business until March 31 to offer opinions. It said officials would “take legal action within the framework of the World Trade Organization.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington said China “has made great efforts to address the current trade imbalance between China and the U.S. China does not want a trade war with anyone. But China is not afraid of and will not recoil from a trade war. China is confident and capable of facing any challenge. If a trade war were initiated by the U.S., China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures.”
China is one of the world’s most protectionist countries, and U.S. businesses wanting to do business there have to provide cutting-edge intellectual property, accept Chinese firms as partners.
The U.S. is essentially demanding that China “provide as much market access to the U.S. as the U.S. provides to China,” said Scott Kennedy, an expert on China’s economic policy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. “That’s a really big list for China. Xi Jinping is a nationalist … and he’s not interested in giving the U.S. or anyone else a level playing field.”