U.S. asks WTO to resolve B.C. wine dispute

The B.C. Wine Institute doesn’t believe there’s any merit to the latest U.S. complaint about the sale of wine in B.C. grocery stores, but it’s still taking the complaint seriously.

On Friday, the U.S. asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute settlement panel over what it says are unfair regulations for the sale of B.C. wine in B.C. grocery stores.

“While not surprised given the current stall in NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) negotiations and the U.S.’s earlier WTO complaint against B.C. practices, we remain puzzled how they have been harmed as the U.S. has a wine trade surplus of $450.6 million,” said institute president Miles Prodan.

“Still, we need to take their concerns seriously and we have been proactive in working with all levels of government to address the concerns of this, and other trade issues.”

The U.S. is irked that only B.C. wines can be sold in B.C. grocery stores. The Americans believe the rule is discriminatory because it doesn’t allow U.S. and other imported wines to be sold in B.C. grocery stores.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a news release discrimination against U.S. wine is unfair and cannot be tolerated.

The release goes on to say B.C. regulations appear to breach Canada’s World Trade Organization commitments and have adversely affected U.S. wine producers.

Last year, $56 million worth of U.S. wine was sold in B.C., representing a 10 per cent share of the market, according to the U.S. Office of Trade.

The B.C. Wine Institute claims the U.S. market share in Canada is 14.2 per cent, more than the 10 per cent share that VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance, 100 per cent Canadian) wines have.