French Armagnac producers are "worried." After China's surtax, which has been in place since autumn and has led to a 25% drop in exports of Cognac and Armagnac to the China/Hong Kong/Singapore zone, there is now the threat of an increase in customs duties on French and European spirits, as mooted by Donald Trump. "This international tax issue, this international geopolitical and geo-economic instability, is ruining our industries," warns Olivier Goujon, director of the national interprofessional Armagnac office. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES