Ep 560: Wine Tariffs and their Dire Consequences for American Wine Businesses with Ben Aneff, President of the USWTA and Daniel Posner of Grapes The Wine Company

Wine for Normal People

Alcohol, Lifestyle, Arts, Education, Food, Wine, Dining, Grapes

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tariffs have been a hot topic in recent weeks, but this issue has been ongoing. During President Trump’s first term, the wine industry was caught flat-footed when, in 2019, the administration put a 25% tariff on still wines from France, Germany, Spain, and the UK (notably, Italy and Portugal were not included) as part of a trade dispute with the EU over subsidies given to Airbus. It was then that my guests – Ben Aneff and Daniel Posner started to organize and get industry leaders together to lobby Congress and try to explain why these tariffs were so harmful to wine. Those tariffs remained in place through 2021, and although there was relief for the last few years, the US Wine Trade Alliance, which was the body that formed out of the initial tariff crisis, continued to exist with Ben at the helm.

In this show, I am honored to have the very busy and very awesome Ben Aneff, a native Texan who now lives in NYC and is the Managing Partner of Tribeca Wine Merchants in New York City, named one of “America’s Best Wine Shops” by Food & Wine Magazine, and an “Editor’s Favorite” by Wine Spectator. Ben has been actively involved in the fight against wine tariffs – working with all parts of the industry and Congress, and testifying about tariffs’ effects at the International Trade Commission. He is the president of the US Wine Trade Alliance

Ben Aneff, President of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA) & Managing Partner of Tribeca Wine Merchants

I also have previous guest and Patron Daniel Posner, owner of Grapes the Wine Company in White Plains, NY. Daniel serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Wine Retailers, a national trade organization founded in 2006, for which he served as President from 2011 to 2019. He helped form the USWTA.

Daniel Posner of Grapes, the Wine Company & Industry Insider

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wine for Normal People, the podcast for people who like wine, but not the snobbery that goes with it.
0:15.9	I'm your host, Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book, and Certified Wine Dork.
0:21.8	Join me as I hit record on this conversation with a friend in the wine industry.
0:26.2	This and all shows with guests are informal that educational discussions between passionate
0:30.9	wine friends. All guests are personal friends or friends of friends in wine, not strangers.
0:36.2	And like any conversation between
0:37.9	friends, we're going to talk back and forth, interrupt each other, laugh, have fun, debate,
0:43.2	tough questions, voice opinions. Most of all, enjoy sharing our time together and with you. If you're
0:48.5	in, pour yourself a glass, pull up a chair, and join us for this great chat.
0:57.9	Before we get to this awesome show with my amazing guests, I need to let you know that this show is made possible by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access.
1:02.9	Go to Wine Access.com slash normal.
1:06.1	Join my wine club with Wine Access.
1:08.4	For $150, you get six bottles shipped to you four times a year.
1:13.1	I select them all with the wine access team. It is an amazing deal. Check it out today.
1:18.9	Wine access.com slash normal. Listen in the middle of the show for more details.
1:26.1	Tariffs have been a hot topic in recent weeks, but this issue has actually
1:29.8	been ongoing. During President Trump's first term, the wine industry was caught flat-footed
1:35.7	when in 2019, the administration put a 25% tariff on still wines from France, Germany, Spain,
1:42.3	and the UK, notably Italy and Portugal were not included as part of a trade dispute with the EU over subsidies given to Airbus.
1:51.1	It was then that my guest, Ben Aniff and Daniel Posner, started to organize and get industry leaders together to lobby Congress and try to explain why these tariffs were so
2:01.0	harmful to wine. Those tariffs remained in place through 2021. And although there was relief for the last
2:07.4	few years, the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance, which was the body that formed out of the initial
	...

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