(KUSA) Nate Klatt is nervous.
He's a wine distributor in Colorado who buys from wineries, importers and distilleries, then sells to retailers and restaurants.
But the future of his business could be drastically impacted by the possibility of new tariffs on European wine.
“To be perfectly frank, it could put us out of business, and it could out us out of business very quickly,” he says.
“Seventy percent of the products we carry are European," Klatt said. "These do not have domestic counterparts, we can’t just turn around and buy the same thing from California or Oregon or Washington.”
The Trump administration wants to put pressure on European countries, in response to a French tax on American tech companies, and EU subsidies to airplane maker Airbus.
A 25% tariff on some products took effect last fall. Now, the administration is threatening to raise that to 100%.
The price of wine for everyday consumers would increase, too.
“It might take months for a consumer to actually see the pain – but ultimately they will,” Klatt says.
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