Leveling the winery field: U.S. lawmakers advocate repeal of Canadian wine tariffs
Leveling the winery field: U.S. lawmakers advocate repeal of Canadian wine tariffs
Jul 8, 2012 6
(WatertownDailyTimes) - New Yorkers can hop across the Canadian border and bring back cases of wine while paying a nominal fee or no charge at all. Canadians, on the other hand, have made a habit of only sampling wine at vineyards here, not buying.
And it’s not because New York wines taste bad.
Costly tariffs on U.S. wine that Canadians take home have long been a sales deterrent in the north country, where a robust network of seven wineries has blossomed in the past decade.
To reverse that trend, U.S. lawmakers are trying to get Canada to repeal its tariffs, which can add anywhere from 58 percent to 150 percent to purchases. The duty means Canadians can be charged $15 for a $10 bottle of wine, more than the cost of the product itself. North country winemakers say they can sympathize with their Canadian visitors.
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