Industry representatives warned that a 200 percent tax on European wines and spirits would halt shipments to the United States and wipe €4 billion off France’s trade balance.

Trump said he would impose the tariff if the European Union continues with its plan to impose a 50% tariff on whiskey beginning in April.

The owner of a top Bordeaux chateau in France, Florence Cathiard, expresses concern over possible 200% U.S. tariffs on European wine, fearing it could devastate businesses. She hopes it's a negotiation tactic by Trump.

Merchants worried that a trade war could wreak financial havoc in a region that has a robust business exporting the world’s finest bubbly to the United States.

The United States is the biggest export market for champagne, made exclusively in its home region in eastern France.

This move by Trump was seen by French Foreign Trade Minister Laurent Saint-Martin as the start of a trade war.