U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer announced that the Trump Administration has requested that the World Trade Organization (WTO) establish a dispute settlement panel to examine unfair regulations governing the sale of wine in grocery stores in the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is challenging BC regulations that discriminate against U.S. and other imported wine by allowing only BC wine to be sold on regular grocery store shelves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want customers in British Columbia to have the opportunity to buy our great American wine. The practice of discriminating against U.S. wine is unfair and cannot be tolerated any longer. Our wine producers rely on export markets and they deserve fair treatment, especially by our northern neighbors in British Columbia,\u201d Secretary Perdue said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCanada is an important market for U.S. winemakers,\u201d said Ambassador Lighthizer. \u201cDiscriminatory regulations implemented by British Columbia are unfairly keeping U.S. wine off of grocery store shelves, and that is unacceptable. Canada and all Canadian provinces, including BC, must play by the rules. The Trump Administration will continue to hold our trading partners accountable by vigorously enforcing U.S. rights under our trade agreements and by promoting fair and reciprocal trade through all available tools, including the WTO.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BC regulations exclude all imported wine from grocery store shelves, a new and growing retail channel for wine sales in BC. Such discriminatory measures limit sales opportunities for U.S. wine producers and provide a substantial competitive advantage for BC wine. These regulations appear to breach Canada\u2019s WTO commitments and have adversely affected U.S. wine producers.<\/p>\n
Additional Background Information<\/p>\n
The United States is challenging BC regulations that were amended in April 2015 to permit the sale of wine in grocery stores. The amended regulations provide two options for grocery stores to sell wine. Under the \u201cwine on shelf\u201d option, a grocery store may sell wine anywhere within the grocery store, but only BC wine may be sold on grocery store shelves.<\/p>\n
Imported wine may only be sold in grocery stores under a \u201cstore within a store\u201d option. Under the \u201cstore within a store\u201d option, wine sales must be conducted in a \u201cwine store\u201d that is physically separated from the grocery store, has controlled access, and has separate cash registers from the grocery store\u2019s cash registers. As a \u201cstore within a store\u201d, a grocery store may sell both BC wine and imported wine.<\/p>\n
In 2017, U.S. wine exports to BC totaled $56 million, and U.S. wine had a 10 percent share of the BC market. A number of grocery stores are already selling BC wine on their shelves under the \u201cwine on shelf\u201d option. However, we are not aware of any grocery stores selling wine pursuant to the more costly \u201cstore within a store\u201d option. BC\u2019s regulations limit choices and raise costs for Canadian consumers.<\/p>\n
The United States held consultations with Canada in 2017, but those consultations did not resolve the dispute. Requesting the establishment of a panel is the next step in the WTO dispute settlement process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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