Brazilian Spirit

Cachaça is in a class by itself, USTR says (and, please, don’t call it rum) UK distiller Diageo is set to pay $450 million to Ypióca Agroindustrial Limitada to acquire the leading premium cachaça brand, Ypióca, the Financial Times reports. The acquisition, Diageo...

EU Files against Argentina

Request for consultations on import restrictions formally opens WTO dispute The EU today requested consultations with Argentina on that country’s import restrictive measures. The request is the first step in bringing a dispute to the World Trade Organization for...

Getting Out of Detention

Clearing red-listed seafood through the FDA? There’s a procedure for that. by Peter Quinter, guest columnist The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues “Import Alerts” almost daily. A recent one that affects many seafood importers is Import Alert #16-81, issued...

Argentine Perishables to Wilt

Brazil retaliates in response to Mercosur partner’s protectionist policies Reuters reports that Brazil will end automatic import licensing for 10 perishable products from Argentina, including apples, raisins, potatoes, wheat flour, and some cheeses and wines. The...

Vanilla Price Watch

Speculative rumors produce real increases, although not nearly as big as 2003 Last month, a flurry of headlines, starting with a report in the UK’s Telegraph, warned that the wholesale price of vanilla was set to rise sharply – adding as much as 10% to the retail...