Xinhua
25 Apr 2025

In recent months, California has seen a year-over-year decline in wine exports for four consecutive months, raising concerns for both agricultural and manufacturing sectors as counter-tariffs on exports begin to take effect.

SACRAMENTO, the United States, April 25 (Xinhua) -- California's wine industry is facing significant disruption as the Trump administration's tariff policies have created ripple effects across global markets, according to a CalMatters investigation published Wednesday.

CalMatters, a non-profit news site focused on California, reported that even domestically produced wine has seen rising costs due to tariffs, which have affected nearly every aspect of production, from glass bottles, to labels, corks, metal posts and wooden stakes for vines.

According to Gino DiCaro, spokesperson for the Wine Institute, as cited by CalMatters, the stakes were especially high for California, which produces 95 percent of all U.S. wine exports. The industry is now facing challenges on multiple fronts, as retaliatory tariffs from trading partners threaten established markets.

According to CalMatters, Canada, once accounting for more than a third of California's wine exports, instituted what officials described as a "serious 'don't-buy-American, don't-go-to-America'" campaign in response to the president's threats regarding tariffs and potential annexation.

As a result, Canadian businesses are canceling orders for California wines. The report also noted that potential sales to Mexico and the European Union are now on hold.

The situation has become severe enough that California recently became the first state to sue the Trump administration over the tariffs. The lawsuit, filed by Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta in federal court in San Francisco, argues that Trump lacked constitutional authority to impose tariffs unilaterally.

In recent months, California has seen a year-over-year decline in wine exports for four consecutive months, raising concerns for both agricultural and manufacturing sectors as counter-tariffs on exports begin to take effect. Officials with the Port of Los Angeles also anticipate a significant slowdown in cargo movement in the coming months.

Newsom condemned the tariffs, telling CalMatters, "Washington's tariff policy is recklessness at another level. The geopolitical impacts are outsized. The trade impacts are outsized. No rationale, no plan, no conscience to what it's doing to real people."