OUR MISSION
The US Wine Trade Alliance (USWTA)
represents all tiers of the US Wine Trade in the fight against wine tariffs.
Through coalition building, direct lobbying, and grassroots efforts, the USWTA
works on behalf of American importers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants and producers,
aligning all with the common goal of achieving a zero-tariff policy
on wine imported to the United States.
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The United States and the European Union have announced a “cooperative framework” to solve the Large Civil Aircraft disputes that are the underlying cause of the tariffs on wine from the EU. In doing so, they have suspended all related tariffs, including the tariffs on wine, for five years.
While a final resolution to the Airbus / Boeing dispute has not yet been secured, this agreement is a strong step towards that end. Further, it establishes parameters for both sides, as well as a joint Working Group, in order to prevent tariffs from coming back.
The long-term suspension of tariffs will give us the certainty our industry demands to plan for the future. It also signals the USTR recognized the ultimate failure of these tariffs as a tool to bring about a resolution to the Large Civil Aircraft dispute.
Over the last 18 months, the USTR received over 45,000 letters demanding an end to the tariffs on wine, and telling the story of the devastation these tariffs cause small businesses all over the country. Numbers so large they had to create a separate website to deal with the volume of feedback from our industry. They also heard from broad, bipartisan swaths of Congress, asking for an end to these tariffs, and telling the USTR the damage these tariffs caused wasn’t worth it.
Your support was critical in these efforts, so please, let me say THANK YOU! I have been so heartened by the way our industry joined forces to face this threat together. Your work, and the work of so many around the country, helped to make this possible.
The USWTA will continue to monitor the discussions, and meet with relevant parties to encourage a final settlement. The majority of our work for the time being will now shift to undoing a major flaw in the initial enactment of these tariffs: the charging of tariffs for goods on the water. We hope to hammer home the final nail in the coffin of the disastrous previous policy, and do what we can to make tariffs on wine more difficult to enact in the future.
We will keep you updated on these efforts soon, but in the mean time – Cheers! I hope you crack open something fun, and celebrate!
Sincerely yours,
Ben Aneff