Spain panic as key market slumps by 21% after Trump threat

Imports have slumped for one of Spain's largest markets following Trump's tariff announcements (Image: Getty)

Spain’s lucrative wine industry has called for immediate tariff agreements after wine exports to the US plunged nearly 21%. Following tariff announcements by Donald Trump in March, wine imports dropped by 20.8% in April in the US, one of Spain's largest wine markets.

According to data presented in the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Association (OIVE) economic report on Thursday, the United States is the second-largest market by value for Spanish wine. OIVE president Fernando Ezquerro called for immediate action in Spain and across Europe.

Fernando Ezquerro has called for immediate action (Image: Getty)

He said: "We need an agreement now on tariffs, and we need them to be as low as possible, because uncertainty only distorts the figures, given the unstable market. We need to know what cards we're playing."

Ezquerro called for "every effort from European diplomacy to reach an agreement" as there was also a drop in purchases of Spanish, French, and Italian wines in May.

The US is Europe's largest wine export market, sending more than €4.5bn (£3.78billion) worth of wine each year to the US, according to the Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, which represents the European wine industry.

However, on Saturday, July 12, Donald Trump proposed raising tariffs on European products to 30% from August, in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, posted on Truth Social.

Director of the interprofessional association, Susana García Dolla, stressed the importance of creating an image of Spanish wines internationally, with the amount of "international competition and many producing countries".

He acknowledged that since 2004, Spain has sold more wine abroad than at home, adding: "We have a domestic market that has been declining in volume since the 1970s. Wine is 'Brand Spain' and is an ambassador for the country."

According to OIVE data, Spain's wine exports exceeded €3.5 billion in 2024, a 3.5% increase that represented a "new historical high" despite a slight volume contraction.