U.S. escalates dispute over wine sales in Canada

“Discriminatory regulations implemented by British Columbia are unfairly keeping U.S. wine off of grocery store shelves, and that is unacceptable,” says U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.    The United States has requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) establish a dispute settlement panel to examine whether British Columbia’s handling of grocery store wine sales violates WTO rules, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced Friday.
   The U.S. in October requested WTO consultations on the matter, which was the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process.
   USTR is challenging British Columbia regulations that the agency says discriminate against U.S. and other imported wine because they allow wine only from that province to be sold on regular grocery store shelves, USTR said in its announcement.
   “Canada is an important market for U.S. winemakers,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement. “Discriminatory 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 B.C., 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.”
   Australia also filed a WTO complaint in January against wine sales practices implemented by the national government of Canada and provincial governments including British Columbia.