"Easier, more inclusive wine trade can improve product availability and prices for consumers and improve job creation and growth," said Tom LaFaille, international trade counsel for the Wine Institute, the private sector overseer of the APEC Wine Regulatory Forum. Wine lovers and exporters around the Pacific Rim will have reason to pop the cork Thursday after officials slashed red tape on shipments in the region that will ease an expensive bottleneck. APEC said the bloc's wine trade had more than tripled to over $23 billion since 2000, but "unnecessary non-tariff barriers" and overlapping certificates had mean companies were facing huge costs. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. Jamie Ferman of the US Department of Commerce described the model certificate as "a win-win for the industry".

Source: Thanhnien News July 07, 2016 06:11 UTC