WTO Reverses Decision on Indian Tariffs

Victory in India for the spirits and wine biz today. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has just reversed an earlier ruling that Indian duties on U.S. alcohol imports are not discriminatory (much to the dismay of companies like Beam Global and Brown Forman) in response to the Bush administration’s appeal. The U.S. issued a complaint last year that India imposed “excessive” tariffs on imported wine, beer and spirits, which grew as high as 550%, in attempt to protect local producers.