CAWG Calls for End of EU Subsidies to Winegrape Growers That Distort Trade.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The European Union (EU) recently announced that it had allotted 450 million euros (US $562 million) solely for the restructuring and conversion of EU vineyards. And while winegrape growers there may be happy about it, here in the U.S. winegrape growers, led by the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG), see this as a clear violation of World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments previously undertaken by the EU.

"There is no doubt that the EU will continue to provide a very high level of direct producer subsidies to its wine sector," said Karen Ross, president of CAWG. "These subsidies to growers who already hold 70-percent of the world market are designed to make EU wines even more competitive at the expense of other wines, such as those from the U.S. We encourage the U.S. government to strongly press the EU Commission to reduce and eliminate these subsidies as part of the WTO Doha Round of agriculture negotiations."

"EU producers have already received hundreds of millions of dollars from the EU Commission to make EU wines more competitive on the international wine market," said Ross. "In addition, many EU member states spend additional funds on the marketing and promotion of their wines throughout the world. These expenditures give EU wines a significant and unfair advantage in international markets and should be addressed by the WTO."

CAWG sent letters to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Ann Veneman, and the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Zoellick, (available on CAWG's Web site at www.cawg.org) calling for U.S. representatives to the WTO Doha Round of agriculture negotiations to strongly press for the EU Commission to reduce and eliminate these subsidies. "We believe it is the ideal time to examine EU supports for the wine sector and to call for the elimination of those subsidies, like the restructuring and conversion program, that distort trade," said Ross.

CAWG represents the growers of more than 60 percent of the gross grape tonnage crushed for wine and concentrate in California. The statewide association is dedicated to enhancing the business of growing winegrapes through advocacy, research and education, and industry leadership.