A 10 per cent tariff on Australian wine and other products headed for the USA might not hurt as bad as first thought, with other countries facing much higher penalties, according Wines of the King Valley president Dean Cleave-Smith.
He said under relative comparison to other countries, the tariffs announced by US president Donald Trump might not have too much of an impact on the nation's wine industry.
For instance, there will be a 20 per cent increase on the import of goods from the European Union which would jack the price up for US consumers who love their French and Italian wines - with the US the biggest wine export market for both countries.
Mr Cleave-Smith said the Victorian Government through Wine Victoria has been trying to stimulate US exports over the last couple of years.
"There has been a number of programs for businesses around US export so like every other industry that exports to the US, it's disappointing to see a 10pc tariff, particularly when we have a free trade agreement," he said.
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"It's the unfortunate reality of the dynamics of the world in which we live at the moment.
"From an overall perspective it's relatively small and some people are saying let's see where we land as it's a little early to assess.
"EU wine into the US, for which it is a significant volume, there will be much, much greater price pressure.
"Once the dust settles and we understand the increases to Australian wines relative to others, we may still be very competitive in the market."
