Australia files WTO complaint against Canadian wine sales measures
Posted January 16, 2018 12:54 pm.
Last Updated January 16, 2018 3:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – Australia has filed a complaint about Canada’s rules around wine sales with the World Trade Organization.
The complaint filed Friday argues that Canada’s distribution, licensing and sales measures discriminate against imported wine.
It targets product mark-ups, market access and listing policies used in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
The complaint acts as a request for a consultation between the two countries in an effort to avoid litigation.
If the matter is not resolved in 60 days, a panel can be brought in to adjudicate the case.
The complaint comes two years after Australia pressed Canada to lower trade barriers on the wine industry like it had done for the European Union.