"Capitalism breathes through those loopholes."
- Ludwig von Mises
-RW
New Trump administration tariffs threaten to raise prices on Italian cheeses, Spanish olive oil, and a wide range of other gourmet foods from Europe. But a Florida company has found a loophole in the new French wine tariff that's big enough to drive a truck through.
Florida Caribbean Distillers has begun importing truckloads of bulk wine from France and bottling the product at its plant between Tampa and Orlando. That conveniently sidesteps the 25% levy imposed last week...the new tariffs apply only to wine in bottles of 2 liters or less.
Steiner's company is importing wine in 20- or 40-foot shipping containers, with a giant pouch inside...
The company wasn't thinking about tariffs when it uncorked this plan. It simply wanted to capitalize on the fast-growing U.S. market for French Rose.
But its bulk importing strategy gives the company a serendipitous cost advantage..
The company is packaging the tariff-free wine in standard bottles — expected to retail for $8.99 to $9.99 — as well as 375 ml cans, which will sell for about $3.99...
The company is marketing its wine under the brand name "Le Rosey," using the hashtag #TrumpTariffFree. It expects to add a sauvignon blanc and a pinot noir next spring.
Shipping containers, with a giant pouch inside… the ultimate box of wine.
ReplyDeleteInteresting story but hardly heroic. It does reveal how unintended consequences produce beneficiaries as well as victims. The producer of bulk containers for wine is the same as the glazier who repaired Bastiats broken window.
ReplyDelete