Press Release: EU-US wine trade accord will enhance protection of European names and safeguard EU’s biggest market

The European Union and the United States have reached a first phase agreement on trade in wine which will protect EU wine names and secure the EU's biggest and most valuable wine market. Under the accord, the US administration will make a proposal to Congress to change the status of EU wine names such as Burgundy, Champagne, Chablis, Chianti, Madeira, Malaga, Port, Sherry and Tokay currently considered semi-generic terms in the US, and limit their use in the US. The US will also exempt the EU from its new certification requirements, accept the main principles of EU labelling rules and pledge to seek to resolve any bilateral issues concerning trade in wine through informal bilateral consultations rather than through dispute settlement mechanisms. The two sides have also undertaken to build on the agreement by starting to negotiate a more ambitious second-phase accord 90 days after the entry into force of this agreement.