Canada and Australia settle WTO wine trade dispute

 Federal Government and four provinces reach settlement with Australia, ending WTO dispute

Canada and Australia have officially settled a trade dispute initiated by Australia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning wine taxation and trade practices.

The Australian Government initiated the dispute action in 2018 against what it considered discriminatory measures by Canada affecting Australian wine at the federal level and in four Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Australia and Canada reached settlement agreements in respect to British Colombia in April 2019, federal and Nova Scotia measures in June 2020, and for Ontario in July 2020.

In April 2021 a settlement was reached on measures imposed by the province of Quebec, which Australia claims disadvantaged it wine producers.

In May the WTO panel appointed at the request of Australia issued its report. Following the many settlements the report does not contain any substantive findings and only provides a brief description of the case and reports that a solution has been reached.