Lisbon, April 14, 2025 (Lusa) - The president of the Portuguese association of wine and spirits merchants and exporters (ANCEVE), Paulo Amorim, said on Monday that "the US has stopped orders for Portuguese wines and wines from Europe".
"The uncertainty is terrible and with the uncertainty the distribution chain in the United States has stopped orders for Portuguese wines and wines from Europe and so at the moment we're facing a terrible problem and we're not managing to sell," said the association's president.
Paulo Amorim also fears that, if the tariffs materialise, "most of the loss will be borne by the wine producers", which he considers a "gigantic unfairness".
He spoke to journalists after meeting with the minister of the economy and the minister of agriculture and fisheries in Lisbon, together with 16 other sectoral associations, in the context of the tariffs announced by the President of the United States.
The president of ANCEVE also said that Portuguese wine needs "a new Porter plan", which "helps to promote Portuguese wine in a more dynamic way", bearing in mind that "wine carries the name of Portugal far and wide".
On a similar note, The head of the Portuguese national agricultural confederation (CNA), Vítor Rodrigues, said today that there are already "retractions in orders, especially from the United States", following the tariffs announced by Donald Trump.
"On the one hand, we are already seeing a downturn in orders, especially from the United States, affecting various sectors, but there is also a problem that has been raised here, which has to do with the raw materials on which we depend for our production," he said.
Vítor Rodrigues spoke to journalists after meeting, along with 16 other associations from the sector, with the minister of the economy and the minister of agriculture and fisheries, in Lisbon, in the context of the tariffs announced by the President of the United States.
The association's leader brought some concerns to the meeting with the government, namely the issue of food sovereignty, and added that it is necessary to review the ‘Fair Trade Practices Directive at European Union level to prohibit the purchase of agricultural products below production costs".
Vítor Rodrigues also said that it is necessary to look at the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in terms of distributing "fairer support [...], especially for small and medium-sized farms", in an attempt to ensure that "the internal market is also seen as an alternative".
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the suspension of the so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ for 90 days, which included the European Union.
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