2 March 2005, Auckland, New Zealand

Statements of the World Wine Trade Group Industry Section

Promotion of WWTG Principles

The Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices has now been ratified by all signatories. The industry section of the World Wine Trade Group are proud of this achievement and believe that this is a significant step forward in the facilitation of the international trade in wine.

We further believe that the trade facilitating approach of the Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices, the Draft Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling, and of the World Wine Trade Group more widely, should be disseminated through other wine producing and consuming countries. There are a number of key initiatives that we have identified in this regard.

We support the notification of the Mutual Acceptance Agreement to the World Trade Organisation, and consider that this provides an opportunity to educate other countries on our trade facilitating approach that should be taken up by Government and Industry.
We would like to pursue ongoing engagement with Asian countries, both individually and in the context of organisations such as APEC, to educate their authorities on the workings of the World Wine Trade Group and its Agreements. In the context of APEC specifically, we propose that Government and Industry work towards developing information on relevant APEC member countries and to conducting meetings and events with the Government authorities and industry members in those countries as an immediate priority.
We would like to pursue the re-engagement of South Africa with the World Wine Trade Group, as one of its founding members, at both Government and Industry level.

Work on Labelling Issues

We recognise the significant progress that the Government sector has made on the Draft Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling. We congratulate them on their efforts to date and encourage them to continue to progress their discussions towards a satisfactory outcome.

We also support future work by Government and Industry to develop a further agreement on labelling requirements in accordance with the Sonoma principles and other related matters in as timely a manner as possible.

We further note the close relationship of the OIV amendment to its International Standard for the Labelling of Wines, DRAFT RESOLUTION ECO/REGL/02/230/Step 5, titled HARMONISATION OF LABELLING and the Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling. We recommend to those of our governments that are also members of the OIV that their delegations seek to ensure that the final OIV text is not more restrictive than, or incompatible with, the Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling. On this basis, they should support the passage of this resolution at the OIV General Assembly in 2005.

Subsidies and the WTO Doha Round

In view of the ongoing Doha Round negotiations on the WTO Agreements, we reaffirm our strong concerns about the effects on the international wine trade of domestic and export subsidies for the grape and wine industry. We reaffirm our Statements of 10-11 April 2001 and 18-19 December 2001 requesting Governments to encourage WTO members to eliminate grape growing and wine production subsidies that distort trade or otherwise give a competitive advantage to a producer, and to eliminate export subsidies in all their forms. We urge Governments to adopt a strong and coordinated position on these issues in consultation with industry. In order to assist Governments in this regard, we will explore the possibility of research being undertaken into identifying all direct and indirect subsidies for wine production within the European Union and the impact of those subsidies on the international wine trade.

World Health Organization

WHEREAS, the Industry Sector of the World Wine Trade Group has reviewed the resolution EB115.R5 of 20 January 2005 by the Executive Board of the World Health Organization ("WHO") proposing the adoption of a resolution by the Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly ("WHA"), and

WHEREAS, the Industry Sector is gravely concerned by the process by which the resolution was developed, which resulted in a resolution whose content is not a balanced reflection of the issues of alcoholic beverage consumption, and

WHEREAS, the Industry Sector believes that the issues of health and alcoholic beverage consumption can only benefit from a fair and objective review by WHO, and

WHEREAS, the Industry Sector shares the concerns of WHO over abuses of alcoholic beverage consumption and is working diligently to develop programmes to combat such abuses, and

WHEREAS, the Industry Sector believes that the programmes of WHO would benefit from the learning of the alcoholic beverage industry in the states members of WHO,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Industry Sector requests the Governments members of the World Wine Trade Group to:

CHARGE their representatives at the WHO to express the importance of open dialogue and collaboration with the industry sector of states members of WHO in the discussion and development of WHO's positions on alcoholic beverage consumption;

INFORM the WHO of the industry's facilities and research available to the WHO, through industry consultation and collaboration, to develop reasonable positions based upon scientific evidence regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages;

SUPPORT the participation and collaboration of the industry sectors of the states members of WHO in the development of WHO resolutions for the WHA relative to the consumption of alcoholic beverages;

OPPOSE resolutions of the WHA, or any subordinate body, where such resolutions are not the product of the collaboration and consultations proposed herein.