Canada rejected the U.S. request for a dispute panel on the issue of foreign wine sales in British Columbia grocery stores. The rejection came during the World Trade Organization dispute settlement body meeting June 22. The issue is the stores require that imported wine be stocked in a separate building from the main store (see 1701180083). American wines are still sold at liquor stores, which used to be the only place to buy wine in the province. Countries faced with a dispute panel request can only veto its establishment once, so a panel should be formed shortly. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative asked for comments on the dispute by July 20, at docket number is USTR-2018-0019 on regulations.gov.
In recent editions of the Official Journal of the European Union the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Union recently issued the following trade-related release (notices of most significance will be given separate headlines):
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
New Chinese 25 percent tariffs on goods from the U.S. set to take effect on July 6 (see 1806150037) are mostly focused on meat, agriculture and cars. China said it would impose initial tariffs on those and other goods mentioned in a first list on the same date the U.S will impose its Section 301 tariffs on goods from China (see 1806150003). China said it also plans to eventually add tariffs to goods mentioned in a second list, which includes chemical products, medical equipment and energy products.
The European Union adopted the proposed list of new tariffs on $3.2 billion worth of U.S. goods, the EU said in a June 20 news release. The list is the same as the one it submitted to the World Trade Organization (see 1806010022), and the new tariffs will take effect on June 22, the EU said. Additional tariffs will be added "at a later stage -- in three years' time or after a positive finding in WTO dispute settlement if that should come sooner," it said.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters:
The World Customs Organization issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
The European Union and Australia began discussing a "broad trade agreement" on June 18, the European Commission said in a news release. The EC's Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Trade Minister of Australia Steven Ciobo in Australia to officially begin the discussions. "In challenging times, it is heartening to see that Australia shares our commitment to a positive trade agenda, and to the idea that good trade agreements are a win for both sides," Malmstrom said. The first formal round of talks between negotiators will go on in Brussels July 2-6, the EC said. The EC also posted a new site focused on the agreement's progress.
The World Customs Organization issued the following release on commercial trade and related matters: