China hands US wines 15% tarrifs

Just three days ago, a trade group representing California’s vintners issued a report showing China was among the top importers of the Golden State’s wine, bringing in almost $79 million worth of U.S. wine last year.

China has announced plans to add a 15% tariff on a selection of US wines, which is likely to effect the Nappa Valley region hardest.

China imported $79m worth of US wine in 2017 and the new tariffs are a response to the ones Donald Trump put on Chinese products earlier this week, adding to the Nappa Valley’s year of bad news.

“China is one of our largest export markets,” said Michael Honig, president of Honig Vineyard to Bloomsberg. “We’re already expensive, because they already have existing duties and tariffs. It’s a burgeoning market that we had been hoping to make great strides in growing forward.”

The 15% tariff will likely stunt the growth of the region in California and Honig believes this could make Nappa Valley less competitive going forward.