October 9, 2015
Washington D.C., WineAmerica supports the completion of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement announced by the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations. The agreement is expected to eliminate existing high tariffs placed on American wines abroad and establish more enforceable trade rules for wine.
“Asia is an emerging and very important market for U.S.,” said Caroline Shaw, Executive Vice President of Jackson Family Wines and current WineAmerica Board Chair. “New multilateral trade agreements, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, could allow American wines to compete with other exporting wine producing nations and result in an increasingly competitive international market.” This situation is good for both the wine producer and the consumer.
The 12 TPP countries have agreed to an agreement in principle, but the final text is not completed, nor has it yet been released to be the public. WineAmerica will evaluate the final text of the agreement when it becomes available. With the passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) earlier this year, which WineAmerica supported, Congress must approve the final agreement before the President can sign it, but may not offer amendments.
The 12 TPP countries are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam. The Office of the United States Trade Representatives has released a public summary of the deal.
Reach out to Michael Kaiser, Director of Public Affairs here at WineAmerica with any questions: mkaiser@nullwineamerica.org.
WineAmerica is the national voice the American wine industry. Based in Washington, D.C., WineAmerica represents wineries in 43 states and leads a coalition of state and regional wine and grape associations. As an industry leader, WineAmerica encourages the dynamic growth and development of American wineries and winegrowing through the advancement and advocacy of sound public policy.
