British Columbia Wine Regulations for Grocery Stores Discriminatory, US Complains to WTO

The Obama administration on Jan. 18 requested World Trade Organization consultations over regulations that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative says discriminate against the sale of U.S. wine in grocery stores in British Columbia, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman announced (here). Regulations that allow only British Columbia wine to be sold in regular grocery stores in the province violate WTO commitments and hurt U.S. wine producers, the USTR said. “American winemakers produce some of the highest-quality, most popular wines in the world,” Froman said in a statement. “The discriminatory regulations implemented by British Columbia intentionally undermine free and fair competition, and appear to breach Canada’s commitments as a WTO member.” Froman and Acting Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse said British Columbia is a new and growing export market for U.S. wine.

Since April 2015, British Columbia allowed imported wine to be sold only in a “store within a store,” physically separate from the main grocery store, USTR said. The agency isn’t aware of any British Columbia grocery stores selling wine under the “more costly ‘store within a store’ option.” If, after 60 days, consultations haven’t resolved the dispute, the U.S. can request adjudication by a WTO dispute resolution panel.