Wines: Imports

(asked on 6th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of suspending import certification requirements for wine.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 14th January 2021

The Withdrawal Act 2018 retained the requirement for third country wines to be accompanied by a VI1 certificate as a means of maintaining the level of assurance they offer on wine standards. We have not conducted an analysis of the potential benefits of suspending VI1s. However, as VI1s already exist for wine imports from locations including Australia, USA and Chile, and these wines remain extremely competitive in our and the EU's marketplaces, we believe the new requirement to be appropriate and affordable.

Nevertheless, we did recognise that the rules underpinning detailed VI1 requirements, which are new to EU wine exporters, are contained in legislation that had to be made late in the transition period. As that did not provide much time for the EU industry to adjust, we have provided an easement to the requirement until 1 July 2021 in the Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. This allows EU wine to continue to be imported to GB using EU commercial documentation, as it did when the UK was subject to EU rules.

Although this easement will apply to all EU wine imports until 1 July 2021, the new UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement has established a system whereby producers can self-certify the certificates used to cover the movement of wine products made in the UK or the EU and moving to the other territory. This will not apply to imports of wine from other origins that are traded between the UK and the EU which will have to continue to meet the basic VI1 requirements or simplified variants of that subsequently agreed in trade deals concluded by the UK.

Provision already exists for all wine certification forms to be transmitted electronically, for which we secured confirmation in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and we will be looking at the feasibility of enabling this option in future.

I am pleased to announce that the UK has now rejoined the International Organisation of Vine and Wine after an absence of approximately 16 years. This will give the UK influence over international decisions on wine practices, processes and maintained credibility in the international trade in wine. We have not made any assessment of the potential benefits of also seeking membership of the World Wine Trade Group, but we are keeping the matter under review.

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