• President Donald Trump threatened 200% tariffs on European wine and other alcohol on Thursday.
• He threatened the new alcohol tariffs in retaliation to EU tariffs on US goods announced Wednesday.
• In a Truth Social post, Trump said the EU was formed "for the sole purpose of taking advantage" of the US.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 200% tariffs on alcohol coming into the US from Europe in retaliation against fresh tariffs imposed by the EU this week.

In a Thursday Truth Social post, Trump said he could impose the duty on all wine, Champagne, and other alcohol from France and other EU countries.

"The European Union, one of the most hostile and abusive taxing and tariffing authorities in the World, which was formed for the sole purpose of taking advantage of the United States, has just put a nasty 50% Tariff on Whisky," Trump wrote.

The threat of retaliation is the latest escalation in a tit-for-tat exchange between the US and EU over tariffs.

It comes the day after the European Commission announced tariffs on more than $28 billion worth of US goods in response to new American duties on steel and aluminum.

The 200% tariff on booze would come in if these new EU tariffs were not removed "immediately," he said.

Trump ordered 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports last month, which took effect on Wednesday.

The European Commission said the countermeasures match the scope of US tariffs. US goods affected include boats, Bourbon whiskey, and motorbikes.

The commission added that it remains ready to work with the US for a "negotiated solution," calling the new US tariffs "unjustified."

On Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the US tariffs are disrupting supply chains, bringing uncertainty to the economy, driving prices up, and putting jobs at stake in Europe and the US.

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Editor's note: This is a preview of The 1600, Newsweek's daily newsletter by politics editor Carlo Versano.

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Alcohol appears to be one of the earliest casualties of President Trump's trade war, one he escalated Thursday with a threat to impose massive levies on European wine and Champagne.

Why it matters: The alcohol industries may not have had the same influence in the tariff fight so far as automakers, but there's still billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs at stake.

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Driving the news: On Wednesday the U.S. imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, prompting retaliation from top trading partners like Canada and the European Union.

• The EU quickly reimposed previously suspended counter-measures, including 50% tariffs on American whiskey as of April 1.
• On Thursday, Trump responded, threatening a 200% tariff on European wine and Champagne if the whiskey levy wasn't removed.
• "This will be great for the Wine and Champagne businesses in the U.S.," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Yes, but: Historically, it's not.

• In 2020 the U.S. Wine Trade Alliance begged Trump to suspend a previous set of retaliatory tariffs on EU exports that had been imposed in 2019, citing their significant impact on the hospitality industries.

By the numbers: The U.S. imports more than $6.7 billion worth of wine a year, per the American Association of Wine Economists, with about two-thirds of that coming from France and Italy.

What they're saying: "We urge President Trump to secure a spirits agreement with the EU to get us back to zero-for-zero tariffs, which will create U.S. jobs and increase manufacturing and exports for the American hospitality sector," the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said in a statement.

• "We want toasts not tariffs."

💭 Thought bubble, from Axios economics reporter Courtenay Brown: The EU is quickly learning the risk of trying to hit Trump where it hurts, like red-state industries.

• He doesn't back down, he doubles down. "If you make him unhappy, he responds unhappy," as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg TV Thursday.

The bottom line: To paraphrase FDR, what America needs now is a drink — but not if it costs 200% more.

David Solomon — Goldman Sachs chairman and CEO — said after President Trump's visit to the Business Roundtable this week that "the business community understands what the president is trying to do with tariffs."

• "The business community is always going to want lower tariffs ... everywhere in the world," Solomon told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Wednesday. "At the moment, there is some uncertainty — the market is digesting that."

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Solomon told Bartiromo that Trump projected a "sense of optimism" during his closed-door remarks Tuesday to the biggest-ever meeting of the BRT, made up of the CEOs of America's largest companies.

• Solomon, whose firm manages or supervises trillions of dollars in assets, praised the administration for being "engaged with the business community. ... That's a different experience than what we've had over the course of the last four years."
• He said business wants to see "more specific actions on the regulatory front to unleash more animal spirits. ... My expectation is you will see, as you get through the year, a pickup in activity across both the capital markets and M&A."

One CEO in the room for Trump's remarks told Mike: "Let's slow down and have a little perspective. We may not like how fast this is going, and have real concerns. But let's play a long game."

• The CEO told us that amid the current uncertainty, many BRT members are medium-term and long-term optimistic that Trump policies will encourage capital spending, economic growth and consumer activity.

🥊 Reality check: A front-page story in today's Wall Street Journal is headlined, "CEO Frustrations With Trump Over Trade Mount — in Private."

• Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a well-known professor at Yale School of Management, who organized a CEO Caucus in Washington on Tuesday, said he heard "universal revulsion against the Trump economic policies ... They're also especially horrified about Canada."
• Trump has been dismissive of CEOs' concerns about tariff uncertainty. Last weekend, he told Bartiromo they had "plenty of clarity."

Stephen Schwarzman — chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, and a top Trump donor — told reporters in India yesterday that the tariffs would, "at the end of the day," lead to a significant increase in manufacturing activity in the U.S., the Financial Times reports ($).

• "Given the size of the U.S., that tends to be a good thing for the world," Schwarzman said.

Solomon added that tariffs are getting the headlines, but CEOs "are excited about some of the tailwinds ... the move to lower regulation. Regulation has been a significant headwind to growth in investment."

• "Tax policy is going to be a big discussion as we move forward, energy policy," he said. "The more we can have certainty on the policy agenda ... the better that is going to support capital investment and growth."

Solomon concluded his Fox interview: "When there's change, there's uncertainty — it takes a while for people to absorb and adopt. But I continue to be incredibly optimistic about the United States and the direction of travel. We have an incredibly nimble and versatile economy."

• Go deeper: Watch Solomon's video.

• Mario Carbone is the chef behind the iconic Italian restaurant Carbone in New York City.
• He gave me the recipe for a penne with spicy shrimp that only takes 20 minutes.
• The delicious pasta is quick, easy, and packed with flavor.

When it comes to Italian restaurants in New York City, Carbone is easily one of the most famous.

I've found myself dreaming of Carbone's melt-in-your-mouth meatballs, the signature "grandma bread" slicked with tomato sauce, and the spicy rigatoni vodka that celebrities can't get enough of.

While Mario Carbone wouldn't divulge the secrets to his most famous dish, the chef gave me a 20-minute pasta recipe to bring some of Carbone's magic to my own kitchen.

Here's how to make it.

• "The Wheel of Time" season three premieres on Thursday on Prime Video.
• The fantasy series follows a group of villagers forced to become heroes of the world.
• Here are the key story plots to remember before tuning into season three.

"The Wheel of Time" returns for a third season after a year-and-a-half break.

The fantasy Prime Video show, based on Robert Jordan's whopping 15-novel series, follows a group of five villagers forced to save the world from an evil known as the Dark One.

Before you start season three, here's a quick refresher on the key players and story plots.

• OptimHire is a hiring platform that uses an AI agent to replace traditional job recruiters.
• The startup just raised $5 million in funding from Mucker Capital.
• Check out the 10-slide pitch deck OptimHire used to raise its seed funding round.

2025 is shaping up to be the year of the AI agent, and one startup just landed a seed investment to bring the tech to the world of hiring.

The startup OptimHire just raised a $5 million seed funding round led by Omar Hamoui, a partner at early-stage VC fund Mucker Capital. SparkLabs, Citta Capital, Pitbull Ventures, and Vijay Chattha at VSC Ventures also participated in the round.

Founded in 2019, OptimHire provides companies with an end-to-end hiring platform via an AI-powered applicant tracking system. The startup's AI agent, OptimAI recruiter, sources candidates, conducts screening calls, and schedules interviews on behalf of hiring managers to reduce the time and cost associated with filling an open role.

OptimHire claims it reduces the job application timeline by 80% — from an average of two to six months down to just 12 days — and reduces the fees companies must pay to recruiters from 20% of a new hire's first-year salary, which is the industry average, down to 6%.

The startup previously raised another seed funding round in 2021 to the tune of $3 million, also from Mucker Capital.

For OptimHire CEO and founder Larry Kodali, advancements in generative AI during the last few years have been a boon for the startup, which landed 8,000 hires in 2024.

"Recent advancements in our tech stack have meant we can handle higher capacity and at higher speeds," he told BI. "For instance, today, our AI recruiter can complete 20,000 outreach calls or emails in a matter of minutes. That would have been inconceivable a few months ago."

AI agents are a huge theme for 2025, and the tech world is excited about digital helpers that can autonomously complete tasks like scheduling meetings, conducting phone interviews, making marketing calls, and more. VCs invested $8.4 billion in agents AI startups in 2024, and many investors told BI they're on the lookout for more bets in the space this year.

When it comes to hiring, OptimHire has a handful of competitors: AI-powered applicant tracking system Ashby has raised $68 million from investors, including Lachy Groom and F-Prime Capital, while AI talent acquisition platform Findem closed a $30 million Series B in 2022 led by Four Rivers and Quarry Ventures.

With a new influx of financing, Kodali said that OptimHire will continue to improve its AI to make it more intelligent and realistic.

"As the needs of the global workforce continue to change, we believe that it's important to deliver a hiring experience that meets the individual needs of talent and hiring managers alike," he said.

Check out the 10-slide pitch deck OptimHire used to raise $5 million.

• Tracy McCubbin grew up around family members who were hoarders.
• Their experience helped her understand the burden that can come with mess.
• She's been a professional declutterer for 18 years and says it's her calling.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tracy McCubbin, founder of dClutterfly. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I was in my 20s when people first started talking about hoarding. Before that, no one really used the word, and hoarding disorder certainly wasn't considered a medical condition. Instead, people used words like "packrat" or "eccentric."

I had two family members — one close to me — who fit that description. After seeing a newspaper article about a professional who helped hoarders, I reached out. He came to help my family member, and he also said to me "You should do this as a living."

I had been working as a personal assistant, and I continued to do that for years. I would organize homes and businesses on the side. When I was about 40 I reached a fork in the road of my career, and a friend encouraged me to make decluttering my full-time job. I thought, this isn't a job, it's just what I do to help people.

A home and belongings should serve you, not the other way around

I was wrong: decluttering was definitely a job — a career even. I started dClutterfy 18 years ago, and for the past four years, the business has grossed more than $1 million annually. I have 12 employees and just signed contracts with my first two franchisees.

I usually get a call when people feel like their stuff owns them rather than them owning it. I know from my family members that belongings can become a burden. That's true even for people who don't have hoarding disorder. People will pay for storage units or spend all their time moving things around, which takes away from more meaningful things they could spend time or money on.

I believe that a home is a tool. It should relax and rejuvenate you. I want to help my clients make their homes and belongings work for them. If it doesn't, it's time for something to change.

A clean, decluttered home doesn't have to be perfect

I didn't think too much about my family and my career until I was working with a client who was a psychiatrist. He asked me questions about my background, then said, "You took your primal wound and turned it into your life's work."

That's true. I couldn't help my family members, but I can help others. Doing that feels like a calling.

I don't usually work with hoarders, but I had one client who was in treatment for hoarding disorder (which was officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013). The first time I went to her house, it took her 45 minutes to let me in. Two of my employees helped her multiple times a week over six months. When I went to the house again, she eagerly opened the door and had me in for tea. She told me it was the first time she'd been able to entertain in 10 years.

That's what this work is about: not designing picture-perfect homes but creating spaces that allow people to live their lives.

Reframe wants and needs to avoid buying too much

There are tons of women — often oldest daughters — helping people declutter and organize. Usually, they're not paid for their labor. I've been able to help other women find careers in this space, and I hope to do that even more by franchising.

I'm 60 now and was just married two years ago. Before that, I didn't share my finances with anyone, so I had no financial safety net. Yet, I've managed to support myself very well using these skills, and I'm very proud of that.

Today, despite running a seven-figure business, my life isn't extravagant, but it's full. I travel when I want to. I love a designer purse and enjoy pretty things. Yet, I'm always mindful and intentional about what I bring into my home.

People often shop to feel in control when other aspects of their life feel out of control. It's a quick dopamine hit. I encourage clients to be mindful of that and look for other ways to feel good, like going for a walk. I also tell them to stop saying "I need" and start saying "I want." Most of us don't really need anything else. Reframing your mindset can take away the power of the urge to buy, and with fewer new items coming into your home, you can stick with the systems that really work for you.

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