My previous favorite in the genre of ‘tariff horror stories’ meant to impress ordinary Americans was the Wall Street Journal warning that tariffs would prevent the working class from being able to afford $64K SUVs, but this Axios piece is even better.
Dems and their media have been trying to rally opposition to tariffs by trying to show how they would hurt ordinary Americans. How about showing the impact of imported French wine on the working class?
Where wine tariffs would hit hardest – Axios
U.S. wine importers spent $6.8 billion to bring wine into the country in 2024, 80% of which went to producers in the European Union, per the American Association of Wine Economists.
“It’s a financial death sentence,” according to wine importer Lyle Fass, who explains that millions of dollars’ worth of wine is already paid for, and on ships headed for the U.S., and that if those imports are suddenly hit with 200% tariffs on arrival, most importers simply won’t have the money to pay what they owe.
Sacre bleu!
If it’s a choice between French wine and having actual American manufacturing and economic independence, it’s not really much of a choice. Sure, like most Americans, I enjoy the occasional 1869 Chateau Lafite Rothschild in between trips to my private island, but I suspect I will survive. So will most Americans.
Our ancestors held a tea party. We can hold the imported wine.
