French PM says EU tariff on American bourbon probably mistaken

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PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union was probably mistaken in targeting American whiskey in its riposte to U.S. tariffs, French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said on Sunday, calling for talks to avoid more damaging duties on France’s cognac industry.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to impose a 200% tariff on all wines and other alcoholic products from the EU if the bloc does not scrap its planned tax on U.S. bourbon.

“Have some missteps been made? Yes, probably, because Kentucky bourbon has been included as if it were a trade threat,” Bayrou said of the EU’s proposed tariffs in response to U.S. duties on steel and aluminium.

“A very old (product) list has been retrieved without it being checked like it should have been,” he told France Inter radio.

Trump’s threat against EU wine and spirits has caused dismay among European producers who rely on exports, including French cognac makers already hit with tariffs by Beijing in a separate row over EU duties on Chinese electric cars.

Bayrou, who met representatives of the cognac industry on Friday, said he hoped talks with Washington and Beijing would resolve the tariff dispute.

The EU’s first round of counter-tariffs against U.S. goods including bourbon is due to take effect on April 1. Bayrou, meanwhile, is expected to visit China to discuss the cognac issue but no dates have been announced.

(Reporting by Gus Trompiz; editing by Giles Elgood)