If you work in the wine trade, or if you’re a consumer who enjoys drinking wines from every region of the world, please act now and let your voice be heard!
What’s the issue?
On October 18, the US administration began imposing 25% tariffs on the cost of certain European wines coming into the country. This action was taken as a way to enforce US WTO rights in the Large Civil Aircraft dispute. In other words, we implemented tariffs on certain imported wines to offset unfair competition against Boeing. While we don’t support European countries unfairly subsidizing Airbus, we also don’t believe it is fair or effective to jeopardize our unrelated industry in this matter.
In January, these tariffs will be reviewed as part of docket USTR-2019-0003. During this review, it is possible that many more wines will get added to this tariff list, and that the rate of the tariff could increase, up to as much as 100%.
Additionally, the US Trade Representative has proposed wine tariffs as part of a second action in docket USTR-2019-0009. This matter is a response to France’s digital services tax that unfairly favors smaller digital services business (more likely to be France-based companies) while restricting larger digital services businesses (more likely to be US-based companies). Again, the additional duties on wine proposed in this action are up to 100%.
The US Trade Representative is currently inviting public comments on both matters. The US wine and hospitality industry is comprised of a vast, nationwide network of mostly small to medium-sized businesses with hardworking and talented individuals. If you agree that this industry should not become collateral damage in these unrelated matters, hurting small business and limiting consumer choice, please join us in submitting your comments and urging the US Trade Representative to seek alternate solutions.
How can I help?
With two simple actions.
Action 1 // SIGN THIS PETITION
A simple, immediate and vital action that takes less than sixty seconds.
Action 2 // COMMENT ON THE TARIFF DOCKETS
PREPARE YOUR COMMENTS
You can write as much or as little as you like, and it doesn’t need to be overly complicated or technical, just a few sentences will do! One approach is to write plainly and from your own experience as to how this disruption could impact you as an employee in the industry or as a consumer and community member. You can browse existing comments here (USTR-2019-0003 for Airbus/existing + proposed tariffs) as well as here (USTR-2019-0009 for DST/proposed tariffs) for more information and inspiration.
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS
For the current + proposed tariffs in the Civil Aircraft (aka Airbus) dispute:
Go to regulations.gov
Type the docket number USTR-2019-0003 into the search field and hit Search
Click the Comment Now button on the right
Enter your Comment and continue through the steps to submit
Due date for written comments: January 13, 2020
Repeat the Process for the France’s Digital Services docket:
Go to regulations.gov
Type the docket number: USTR-2019-0009 into the search field and hit Search
Click the Comment Now button on the right
Enter your Comment (you can use the same comment you used for the Airbus docket) and continue through the steps to submit
Due date for written comments: January 6, 2020
Thank you for your time and support of our industry and our company!
