Will tariffs help or hurt CA’s wine industry?

Amid decreasing demand and rising costs, the U.S. and California wine industry have struggled in recent years. But while some in the industry regard President Donald Trump’s tariff policies as bad for business, others say they could help domestic wine makers, writes CalMatters’ Levi Sumagaysay.

Since the beginning of August, the Trump administration has enacted a 15% tariff on most European goods, including wine. Though negotiations remain ongoing, some American winemakers, restaurant owners and others are urging Trump to exclude European wines from tariffs because of the ripple effects it could have on the wine business ecosystem.

In California especially — which leads the U.S. in wine-related tourism and exports — wine importers, distributors, retailers and restaurants rely on selling European wines for revenue. Their ability to distribute American wine is also influenced by how much other wine they can move.

• Paul Einbund, owner of two Bay Area restaurants: “A lot of my diners just won’t drink domestic (wine). … People up and down the supply chain are in trouble.”

In 2022, California’s wine industry generated about $88 billion and the state’s wine exports totaled $1.3 billion.

But others aren’t entirely convinced that exempting European wines from tariffs would help the ailing industry in the U.S. They argue that since European winemakers are subsidized, California wine producers are already at a disadvantage. The European Union spends more than 1 billion euros a year to help boost European wine, and some countries have their own subsidy programs. 

• Richard Samra, a grape grower in the Sacramento Delta and Lodi for 40 years: “U.S. wine grape growers don’t have that. We want to level the playing field. We have plenty of grapes and wine available for sale.”

Read more here.

From CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn:

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sued the Trump administration 37 times in 28 weeks, staving off the president’s efforts to freeze as much as $168 billion in federal funding to California.

That litigation has cost about $5 million — part of the $25 million the state Legislature sent Bonta’s office in early 2025 to bolster California’s legal war chest against anticipated Trump actions.

Bonta’s office documented its legal victories and setbacks in a report submitted to the Legislature last week.

The avoided federal cuts largely stem from a multi-state lawsuit co-led by California to block the Trump administration’s efforts to freeze $3 trillion in federal funding. Bonta’s efforts also helped to restore some federal science funding for universities, while other dollars are still stalled.

The $5 million has been spent on legal staff at the state’s Department of Justice and no money has gone toward outside counsel, Bonta said at a Monday press conference.

CalMatters is tracking Bonta’s suits here.

One of the most common methods California uses to create affordable housing could be thrown into question by a recent lawsuit challenging the city of East Palo Alto’s authority to charge a housing fee.

As CalMatters’ Ben Christopher explains, about 149 California cities and counties have “inclusionary zoning” rules that require developers of new housing projects to pay for the state’s shortage of affordable homes. Developers typically do this by setting aside a portion of new units for lower-income tenants, but they can also pay a fee if they refuse.

Last week, East Palo Alto resident Wesley Yu filed a lawsuit in federal court after the city’s inclusionary zoning rules required him to sell or rent out one of the two housing units he was planning to build at an “affordable” rate. If not, he’d have to pay a $54,891 one-time fee.

Describing the fee as “extortion,” Yu and his legal team are relying on a U.S. Supreme Court decision to refute the zoning rules. The high court ruled last year that local governments must show that certain fees they charge builders must be “roughly proportionate” to the fiscal impact of the development.

Read more here.

Despite state-funded basic needs centers and food pantries on every campus, many college students still struggle with hunger. Amy Elisabeth Moore of CalMatters’ College Journalism Network and Robert Meeks have a video segment on the creative ways California colleges are feeding students as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.