Impact of the US/China Trade war on California and US Wine
I travel a lot to China for work, and it is interesting to see how the current trade war is playing out with the US/China wine industry. Many wineries in the US have been trying to break into the potentially huge China market (even though only ~3% of people currently drink wine), and with the recent trade developments I believe it will be a while before I see US wines on the menu.
Wine is expensive in China, it is also rather difficult for a visitor outside of a hotel to find. In the hotel or a restaurant, it is going to be very pricey! US wine in China is now subject to a 93% tax rate which includes tariffs, value-added and excise tax. In fact, wine imports from the US to China are down about 60% this year. This just means US wines are going to be even harder to find! The wines that I typically see on the menus include wines from Chile, Australia, New Zealand and France. In fact, two of the most common countries I see on the menu now include Australia and New Zealand, which don’t have any of the added tax the US wine does. If you’re looking to drink in China and you want wine that you can afford and that gives you any value for your money, it isn’t going to be from the US. Given that California makes up 90% of wine exported from the US, it also isn’t going to be from California, which definitely hits close to this California girl’s heart!
