Lower Thirds:

0´28	Constantin M.F. Richter, winemaker
1´12	Ernst Büscher, German Wine Institute
1´55	Samina Sultan, German Economic Institute
2´14	Constantin M.F. Richter, winemaker

Script: 

Constantin Richter is heading to his vineyard in the Moselle Valley, which has been in his family for ten generations. He grows Riesling grapes here, and his family has been exporting wine to the United States since 1830. Today, around a third of the vineyard's wine goes to the US. But now Richter is deeply concerned about President Trump's threat of imposing tariffs of up to 200 percent on EU wine imports.

+++SOT 0:26-1:40 O-Ton Constantin M.F. Richter, Winzer+++
"We're exporting over 30 percent of our annual output to the US... and if there are 200 percent tariffs on that, that entire business would go bust. 200 percent on top of everything.. nobody would buy that anymore."

This crisis hits German vintners at an already difficult time. They're facing high labour costs, complex bureaucracy, and rising global wine production, which is pushing prices down.

German wines have remained competitive due to their high quality and excellent reputation. But now it’s becoming harder to maintain profits and sales.

Trump's tariff threat has soured the atmosphere at Germany's largest wine trade fair in Düsseldorf, with many fearing a collapse in revenue.

+++SOT 1:10-1:25 O-Ton Ernst Büscher, Deutsches Weininstitut+++
"These tariffs would be catastrophic for the German export.. especially since the US is our biggest foreign market. We make a sixth of our entire profits there. So it would hit us extremely hard."

Trump previously targeted German wines with 25 percent tariffs in 2019. German exporters and US importers shared the extra costs and managed to weather that crisis. However, tariffs as high as 200 percent would be hard to swallow, if not impossible.

For some, however, the glass is still half full... they're trying to hold on to some optimism.

+++1:53-2:13  O-Ton Dr. Samina Sultan, Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft+++
"A full-on trade war between the US and the EU can still be averted. The EU has announced reciprocal tariffs starting April 1st... but until then there's still time to talk. And both sides should come to realize that a trade war would hurt everyone and that a deal should be negotiated."

At his Moselle vineyard, Constantin Richter is also hoping for compromise... and more active support from the German government.

+++2:12-2:34 O-Ton Constantin M.F. Richter, Winzer+++
"When Trump initially announced these 200 percent... high-level politicians, secretaries of trade, secretaries of state, immidiately had statements out in France, in Italy... just here in Germany, we haven't really heard much from the government."

German winemakers have survived many crises before; right now, they're hoping to weather this one too.