The U.S. is challenging the province乌鸦传媒檚 decision to allow BC wine only on grocery store shelves.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) action is in response to provincial regulations set in 2015 that allow B.C. grocery stores to sell VQA wine on grocery store shelves.
The VQA-only licence allows stores to bypass the rule they be at least one kilometre from liquor stores, as well as avoiding the 乌鸦传媒榮tore within a store乌鸦传媒� model set out for non-B.C. wine.
The trade action follows on the heels of a California Wine Institute complaint to the USTR on Oct. 27 that called B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 wine regulations 乌鸦传媒渂latantly discriminatory.乌鸦传媒�
However, according to the B.C. government, the B.C. wine on shelves model will never see more than 60 partners. The liquor licences that are in these grocery stores are the same VQA licences that have existed in B.C. for years.
乌鸦传媒淭he discriminatory regulations implemented by British Columbia intentionally undermine free and fair competition, and appear to breach Canada乌鸦传媒檚 commitments as a World Trade Organization member,乌鸦传媒� said U.S. ambassador Michael Froman.
Restricting the sale of international wines to the store-within-a-store outlets only is discriminatory, the USTR said.
乌鸦传媒淚n British Columbia the local wines get an unfair advantage because they can be sold on grocery store shelves, while U.S. wines cannot. The United States simply seeks equal opportunities to market our wines, consistent with Canada乌鸦传媒檚 international obligations,乌鸦传媒� said Acting Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse.
