Thirty-five members of the U.S. House and Senate and 50 members of the European Parliament signed a “common statement” urging the European Union and the US to resolve current trade disputes, to stop any related retaliatory action against wine exports, and to strengthen their bilateral partnership in order to avoid any sanctions against those sectors, including in the context of the current World Trade Organization Large Civil Aircraft Airbus–Boeing disputes.
“As legislators and policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic, we acknowledge the importance and benefits of strengthening this bilateral partnership. Both the U.S. and the EU are each other’s largest export markets, with the total wine trade reaching more than $5.3 billion (€4.5 billion) annually, creating jobs and investment and supporting sustainable agriculture on both sides of the Atlantic,” the statement says, adding:
“We ask our governments to further support the economic vitality and diversity of our wine sectors by working to remove all tariffs on wine to achieve a “zero for zero” wine trade environment.”
Wine Institute and Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins (CEEV) both welcomed the statement.
“Wine is a truly unique product and tariff free trade benefits our family wineries, farmers, retailers and hospitality businesses that make up our sector as well as consumers on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Bobby Koch, President/CEO of Wine Institute. “We applaud the Congressional Wine Caucus and their European counterparts for leading this effort to achieve zero for zero. This, more than anything, will help enhance the positive impact of our trade relationship.”