00:00Wine grower Gerhard Lobner feared entirely losing his biggest export market.
00:07Now that US tariffs are much lower than expected,
00:10the Viennese businessman can continue shipping wine to America.
00:14It's however uncertain how many customers will cancel due to increased prices.
00:19If the Americans want to build a wall around their country
00:23and only want to drink woody Chardonnay from the Central Valley,
00:26then so be it.
00:31Instead of the previously announced 200%,
00:34Washington ultimately decided on 20%.
00:37Nevertheless, some Austrian wine growers fear this measure will cut US orders in half,
00:42adding another existential threat after the Covid pandemic and high inflation hit local vineyards.
00:48Vienna calls itself the world's only capital with significant wine production within city limits,
00:55but continuing production with less American customers will be challenging.
01:00If there is too much wine here in Europe,
01:02the wine growers will have a real problem because the prices go really, really down
01:09and they have no income with this wine.
01:15Europe exports roughly $5 billion worth of wine to the US each year.
01:20If American customers stop buying that wine because of higher prices,
01:24export revenue might drop by up to 20%.
01:28The EU Commission wants to help wine growers adapt by unlocking new market opportunities
01:34such as low alcohol wine, which more and more younger Europeans are choosing for health reasons.
01:42Another solution is going east.
01:45Last year, Austrian wine exports increased by 11% to countries like Japan, South Korea and China.
01:51It's a trend many Viennese wine growers hope will continue
01:54with some already traveling to Beijing to meet potential buyers.
02:00I do think that China is an exciting wine market.
02:03And Austrian white wine goes perfectly with Chinese cuisine.
02:11And even if he loses some American customers,
02:14Loewner is certain his historic winery will continue to thrive,
02:17as it has done for the past 342 years, despite wars and trade wars.
02:23Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Vienna.
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