(The Hill) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to put a hefty 200 percent tariff on wine and Champagne coming from Europe if the European Union (EU) does not remove a tariff on whisky. “The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky,” Trump said on Truth Social. “If this Tariff is not removed immediately, the U.S. will shortly place a 200% Tariff on all WINES, CHAMPAGNES, & ALCOHOLIC PRODUCTS COMING OUT OF FRANCE AND OTHER E.U. REPRESENTED COUNTRIES. This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.” he added. A trade war with Europe was escalated on Wednesday when Trump's 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum took effect, leading the EU to swiftly retaliate with a two-step approach. The European trading bloc, which is made up of 27 nations, said it will allow the suspension of the existing 2018 and 2020 countermeasures against the U.S. to expire on April 1. That would allow for 50 percent tariffs on American whiskey, which were suspended, to automatically go into effect. Second, the commission is proposing a new package of countermeasures on goods coming from the U.S. that will go into effect in mid-April, covering some $28 billion in imports in total.  The CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Chris Swonger, on Wednesday warned that a European whiskey tariff would be “very, very devastating.” “We’ve just gotten the news early, early this morning, that the [European Union (EU)] is poised to put a 50 percent tariff on American whiskey. That will be very, very devastating,” Swonger told NewsNation’s Nichole Berlie. Trump has also imposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, but has since announced exemptions for auto parts and goods that fell under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement he signed in 2020. The stock market has experienced a downturn as a result of Trump’s widespread tariffs, which has helped fuel anxiety the nation could slide into a recession.  ...read more read less