A ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit raised fresh uncertainty over many recently-imposed import tariffs after it rejected the Trump administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Wine has been hit by US ‘reciprocal tariffs’ alongside other goods, with EU wines from Bordeaux to Brunello di Montalcino hit by a 15% import levy introduced in August.
However, the court allowed import tariffs to remain until mid-October, pending an administration appeal. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters he was confident the Supreme Court would uphold the government’s position.
Anti-tariff lobby group the US Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA) described the latest court ruling as significant, and important in terms of constitutional limits.
Yet, it said the economic argument against levies on wine would likely remain crucial.
Ben Aneff, USWTA president, said in a note to members, ‘While the IEEPA statute the president used to enact the current tariffs is weak and its implementation may be overturned by the Supreme Court, ultimately we do not believe the courts will save our industry from tariff threats.
‘The president has a series of other tools he may use to enact tariffs, should he wish to do so, making it imperative that we show the executive branch how important imported wine is for the US economy.’
Aneff has previously warned that tariffs would hurt US businesses and could force up prices for wine lovers.
He said the group continued to make the case in Washington that imported wine supports ‘hundreds of thousands of jobs across every state’.
There was disappointment among Europe’s winemakers when it emerged in August that wine was not among a list of European Union products exempt from US import tariffs.
More than €4.88bn-worth of EU wine was exported to the US in 2024, said European wine trade body Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV).
It said on 21 August, ‘The 15% US tariff in place since the beginning of the month is damaging the sector and will continue to reduce our turnover, suspend investments, and decline export volumes.’
It said was still optimistic for future talks between the EU and US. ‘We remain confident that our products will be among those benefiting from a special regime, with only MFN [‘Most Favored Nation’] tariffs applying.’
