Belgian authorities announced on Thursday they have destroyed a shipment of more than 3,000 bottles of California-made sparkling wine as part of a New Year's crackdown on illegally labeled Champagne.
The destruction of the US bubbly highlights a global battle by European food and drink producers to protect their brands by enforcing laws that say only products made in their original regions can carry names such as Champagne, Parma ham or Danish Blue cheese.
In the EU and in non-EU nations that recognize label of origin rules, Champagne can only come from the region of the same name in northern France.
"`Champagne' is a protected appellation of origin which can only be attributed to wines coming from the Champagne region," said Bruno Paillard, representing vintners from the French region.
Paillard said selling other wines with the Champagne label amounts to counterfeiting that cheats consumers.
"It is not the wine connoisseurs that get tricked, because they know the difference, so our priority is to defend the average consumers," Paillard told a news conference.
Officials in the Belgian port city of Antwerp discovered the shipment of sparkling wine bottles bearing the labels "California Champagne" and "Andre Champagne Cellars" destined for Nigeria. All 3,288 bottles were destroyed on Tuesday, officials said.
In a statement, the manufacturer, California-based E&J Gallo Winery, said it respects EU labeling laws and does not sell wine labeled as California Champagne in those countries.
The shipment in question belonged to a third party based in the US that supplies cruise ships and, once informed of the problem, agreed to abandon the product for destruction, Gallo said.
Most countries around the world -- including Nigeria -- respect the rules granting exclusive use of the Champagne label to the French producers.
Sparkling wine makers in the US are allowed to use the Champagne name as part of a compromise reached after years of trade negotiations with the EU. However, they are not allowed to export it under that label to countries that recognize the EU's protection system.
Belgium customs officials said the latest discovery was nothing new. Among previous shipments seized includes bottles of "Shampagne" from Ethiopia and "Champana" from Argentina.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
RSS