‘30% is untenable’: From Irish whiskey to Italian cheese, Trump's tariff threat rattles EU exporters

Furthermore, Import tariff would drive prices unsustainably high and hammer their sales (this bears monitoring)

Furthermore, While some manufacturers are shifting their supply chains stateside or elsewhere, not all es have the same flexibility — and can't easily replace the developed U

Tariff and the hit from a weaker U

On the other hand, Dollar along with unpredictable announcements

In contrast, June O'Connell, founder and director at Irish gin and whiskey-makers Skellig Six18 Distillery, said U (this bears monitoring)

Tariffs have hit her hard this year

Paul McCarthy | Skellig Six18 DistilleryAlong the "last road in Ireland," on the country's rugged west coast, June O'Connell's Skellig Six18 makes gin and whiskey — a time-intensive cess guided by the wind, rain and cool temperatures that roll in year-round off the Atlantic

America was a natural target market once their first spirits were ready to sell in 2019, according to O'Connell, given its strong familiarity with Ireland and big appetite for premium drinks

Moreover, Then the political tide started turning in the White House

On the other hand, "Once it became which way things were heading, people were trying to get a lot of duct stateside ahead of tariffs

We did do some of that, but now warehouses are full, importers are saying don't send any more, and it's only the big customers who are getting priority," O'Connell told CNBC (which is quite significant)

Bottles of Irish whiskey at a store in Corte Madera, California

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesSince the start of the year, President Donald Trump's unpredictable tariff announcements have been roiling es of all sizes

Furthermore, He argues tariffs are needed to create a more balanced relationship; EU officials, however, argue that trade is more even across goods, services and investments, and have pledged to increase oil and gas purchases to narrow the gap (noteworthy indeed)

Last weekend, Trump announced he is planning to hit the EU with a blanket tariff rate of 30% from Aug. 1, after last-minute negotiations failed to duce a framework deal

Huge uncertainty now hangs over whether an agreement can be struck in the next two weeks, and what details or commises it might contain

The fact that the U. 's trade deal with the U (which is quite significant)

The Financial Times reported Friday that Trump is now taking a harder line in EU negotiations and pushing for minimum tariffs of 15-20%, citing people briefed on the talks

However, CNBC has not independently confirmed the report

How the EU is preparing to reach a tariff deal in Trump's game of chickenThe EU's food and drink trade with the U (this bears monitoring), in this volatile climate

Import tariff imposed in April has been a blow to, Skellig Six18's O'Connell said, with the final price impact on the consumer being much higher once additional costs have been passed up the supply chain. "In terms of pricing, 30% [tariffs] would be untenable

What the data shows is whole situation definitely stifles your ambition stateside," she added

France's Distillerie Combier, which duces spirits including triple sec

Tariff could halve sales to the market (fascinating analysis)

Dollar this year has made it more expensive for the U

To import foreign goods, an additional dampener on demand

A 30% tariff, plus exchange rate effects, would mean an overall rate of 45-50% is reflected in final consumer prices, he said, a level that could halve his company's U. "We understand President Trump wants a better balance between imports and exports, but at that 30% level then of course the EU will respond, trade will be hit and it will be a lose-lose situation," he said

Exporters of ducts such as bourbon would also suffer, a factor Choisne said kept him optimistic that the two sides will eventually negotiate a zero-tariff deal for the spirits industry

Stefano Guidi | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesAccording to its president and CEO Attilio Zenetti, the volatility created by tariffs this year has been un any before, with contradictory announcements generating a huge amount of additional admin, in today's market environment. "It gives a lot of uncertainty and does not allow us to organise a real strategy," he said, bar trying to ship as many ducts as possible before higher rates potentially come into effect

Zenetti said that the weaker dollar plus tariffs had already increased the company's U (an important development)

Moreover, "Further increases would of course directly reflect again on U

Wholesale and retail prices and we fear that this will affect volumes," he said

Supply chain shiftsFor some es, mitigating the tariff impact has meant looking at new supply chain options, in today's market environment

Alex Altmann, partner at accounting firm Lubbock Fine and VP of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany, said that some EU manufacturers were considering moving their assembly lines to the U

In doing so, they must navigate the complexity of "rules of origin" that determine the source of a duct for tax purposes

The company sources most of its materials cheaply from Asia and imports them into the EU at a low tariff rate

Nevertheless, It's not too difficult to then shift the final assembly cess to a factory in the U. , he said, to benefit from a 10% — instead of a potential 30% — tariff on ducts as they enters the U

Additionally, However, "We might not be facing these big tariff differences for a long time, but even if you cash in for a few months it's quite significant money," he added

However, Elsewhere, big corporations are considering shifting at least some manufacturing to the U

German industrial giant Siemens, for example, told CNBC it had taken steps to localize manufacturing, and engineering group Bosch wise said it was prioritizing a local-for-local model as it looks to expand its North America (noteworthy indeed)

Additionally, However, for Skellig Six18's O'Connell, moving duction is not possible

That's because the duction of "origin tected" items — an Irish whiskey, Italian parma ham or French champagne — can't be moved elsewhere

Nevertheless, Instead, O'Connell's is focusing on new potential in Asia, Africa and Latin America, but noted the difficulty of doing so in places without solid existing whiskey sales, amid market uncertainty

Combier distillery's Franck Choisne, meanwhile, pointed out that becoming established somewhere new is resource-intensive, costly and could take years

In other words, it's no easy fix for a decline in U

Furthermore, "At times this I just try to remember that I'm in an industry that's nearly 700 years old, requires patience and reminds you that things don't last forever," O'Connell said. "You just have to keep controlling the controllables. "— CNBC's Sam Meredith contributed to this story.