Consumer Corner
International Trade

World Wine Trade Group

The United States is a member of the World Wine Trade Group, an informal grouping of government and industry representatives from wine producing countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa).

Founded in 1998, the group aims to share information and collaborate on a variety of international issues and endeavors to create new opportunities for wine trade.

The Mutual Acceptance Agreement on Oenological Practices (MAA), which has full treaty status, was signed in Toronto, Canada in December of 2001 by the United States and Australia, Canada, Chile, and New Zealand.  Argentina became a signatory in December of 2002.  By 2005, all WWTG members had ratified the MAA with the exception of South Africa.

The MAA seeks to facilitate trade in wine by acknowledging differences in oenological practices and ensuring that wine is allowed to be sold in all signatory countries’ markets despite these differences.  At the same time, it places an emphasis on compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations to protect the health and safety of consumers and to prevent deception of consumers.

After completion of the MAA on Oenological Practices, the group soon began work on an agreement on labeling.  The Agreement on Requirements for Wine Labelling was initialed by all parties on September 20th, 2006 and signed on January 23rd, 2007 in Canberra, Australia.  The Labeling Agreement allows for the placement of four items of mandatory information (country of origin, product name, net contents and alcohol content) anywhere on a wine bottle label provided they are presented in a single field of vision.  By establishing a set of common labeling information for all Parties, the Agreement seeks to minimize unnecessary labeling-related trade barriers, and thereby facilitating international trade in wine.

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