The Apple, Google, and Amazon tax dispute that’s about to double champagne prices
Donald Trump's tariff strategy has already left its mark across industries, from tech giants shifting production lines to small businesses watching their costs increase.
More recently, Americans are finding their favourite imported spirits disappearing from bar menus.
Now, a dispute rooted in Silicon Valley boardrooms is threatening to make your next glass of bubbly more expensive.
According to CNBC, Trump has reportedly threatened France with either scrapping the country's tech 'sales tax' or facing 100 percent tariffs on French wines and champagne entering the US. The threat was delivered ahead of this week's G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains, France.
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“I asked [President Emmanuel Macron] not to charge American companies, and if they do, I have no choice but to charge a 100% tariff on all champagnes and all wines coming out of France,” Trump told the New York Post.
What is the French digital services tax?
The tax at the centre of the dispute was approved by the French parliament in 2019. It imposes a 3 per cent levy on the gross revenues generated in France by large technology companies, primarily targeting US giants such as Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet (Google's parent company).
France argues the tax is a legitimate way of ensuring that major tech platforms pay their fair share on the profits they generate within its borders, however, the Trump administration claims it is discriminatory against American businesses.
What would a 100% tariff mean?
French wine exports to the US are worth approximately $2 billion annually, accounting for around one-fifth of France's total global wine sales.
A 100 percent tariff would effectively double the import cost of every bottle, pricing many French wines and champagnes out of reach for many American consumers, whilst dealing a severe blow to French producers who depend heavily on the US market.
According to the American Association of Wine Economists, citing data from France's customs service, the value of French wine exports to the US fell 15.9 percent in 2025, dropping from 2.4 billion euros to 1.9 billion euros.
But whether that decline was driven by existing tariff uncertainty or a consumer shift towards cheaper alternatives is unclear.
Has this happened before?
This is not the first time the Trump administration has used French wine as a bargaining chip. In 2019, during Trump's first term, the US raised the possibility of imposing huge charges on French imports in response to the introduction of the digital services tax. And earlier this year, Trump threatened a 200 percent tariff on French wines and champagne in an attempt to pressure Macron into joining his Board of Peace initiative.