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California Winemakers Brace For Potential Tariffs

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A woman pours grapes into a wooden barrel.
Megan Glaab, winemaker at Ryme Cellars in Forestville, Calif., pours white grapes into an amphora, a ceramic container dating back to ancient Greece, to ferment wine naturally on Sept. 8, 2023. More wineries and wine bars dedicated exclusively to natural wine are opening in the U.S., with a focus on a back-to-basics approach, avoiding additives, pesticides and other manipulative techniques.  (Haven Daley/AP)

Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, December 4, 2024…

  • President-elect Trump is proposing to increase tariffs on products imported from China, Canada and Mexico. That, he says, will slash trade deficits and help domestic manufacturing compete by raising prices on imports. But imposing tariffs on imported wines and winemaking supplies could hurt California’s wine industry more than it helps. 
  • The final congressional seat that was up for grabs in California is going to Central Valley Democrat Adam Gray. Gray defeated Republican incumbent John Duarte in California’s 13th Congressional District race, by fewer than 200 votes.
  • A San Bernardino County man has been arrested and charged with illegally shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea.

Wine Businesses Brace For Potential Tariffs In 2025

Days after winning a second term in the White House, President-elect Donald Trump proposed a 10 to 20% tariff on all goods coming into the United States. The idea, he says, is to reduce trade deficits and help domestic businesses by raising prices on imports. But many in the U.S. wine industry say that imposing tariffs on imported wines and winemaking supplies would hurt the sector more than it helps.

You might think that adding a tax — or tariff — on imported wines would give the domestic industry a boost. Why buy more expensive bottles from overseas when you can pay the same amount or less for local wines? But experts say the issue is more complicated than that — and it starts with who pays the bill.

Ben Aneff is head of the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance in Sacramento and the managing partner of Tribeca Wine Merchants in New York. “We sort of all end up paying for the tariff, but the importer writes the check to the U.S. government,” Aneff said. “Then, they would obviously pass that cost up to the distributor, who would pass that cost up to the restaurant or the retailer, who would end up having to pass costs on to consumers.”

Adam Gray Captures California’s 13th US House District

Democrat Adam Gray captured California’s 13th Congressional District on Tuesday, unseating Republican Rep. John Duarte in the final U.S. House contest to be decided this year.

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Gray’s win in the farm belt seat that cuts through five counties means Republicans won 220 House seats this election cycle, with Democrats holding 215 seats. Gray won by a margin of less than 200 votes, with election officials reporting Tuesday all ballots had been counted.

Duarte captured the seat in 2022 when he defeated Gray by one of the closest margins in the country, 564 votes. He was often listed among the most vulnerable House Republicans given that narrow margin of victory in a district with a Democratic tilt — about 11 points over registered Republicans.

California Man Charged With Shipping Weapons To North Korea

A California man has been charged with shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea and told investigators they were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday.

Shenghua Wen came to the U.S. from China on a student visa more than a decade ago after meeting with North Korean officials who instructed him to procure goods for the North Korean government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Wen, 41, was arrested at his home in Ontario, California, without incident Tuesday and charged with conspiring to violate federal law barring the shipments.

 

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