President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened 200% tariffs on alcoholic products from the European Union, saying the import taxes would come “shortly” unless the E.U. backs down from its plan to hit American whiskey with a 50% levy on April 1.

Alcohol appears to be one of the earliest casualties of President Trump's trade war, one he escalated Thursday with a threat to impose massive levies on European wine and Champagne. Why it matters: The alcohol industries may not have had the same influence in the tariff fight so far as automakers,

Alcohol has landed on the front lines of a global trade war, throwing French wines, Irish whiskeys, Kentucky bourbon, Japanese beer and Mexican tequila into the crossfire between the U.S. and its biggest trading partners.