American Wine's New Internationalism: NAFTA's Impact on the U.S. Wine Industry in the Established and Emerging Markets of Canada and Mexico

Authors

Sarah E. Richards

Abstract

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) specifically addresses wine trade issues. Although these provisions constitute only a small part of the overall agreement, their inclusion reflects the important role the wine industry has assumed in the United States, and hints at the increasingly prominent role wine exports will have in future relations among North American countries.

This Note examines the special problems that arise in conjunction with the exportation of wine and other alcoholic beverages from the United States. It goes on to contend, however, that NAFTA's implementation should significantly boost U.S. wine exports to the established but heavily restricted Canadian market and to the newly emerging Mexican market. Although many large U.S. wineries have already gained access to the Canadian and Mexican markets, NAFTA encourages smaller U.S. wineries to develop export programs to these countries by making such programs easier to establish and more profitable to maintain. NAFTA further reduces tariff barriers and curbs unfair trade practices which formerly plagued U.S. wine exports to Canada and Mexico.

Recommended Citation

Sarah E. Richards, American Wine's New Internationalism: NAFTA's Impact on the U.S. Wine Industry in the Established and Emerging Markets of Canada and Mexico, 19 Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 357 (1996).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_international_comparative_law_review/vol19/iss2/4