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In Spain, wine is an important part of the economy, society, landscape, culture and gastronomy. Spain boasts the world’s largest vine area and is the third largest wine producer in the European Union (EU), after France and Italy.

Changes to UK alcohol tax rates were implemented on August 1, 2023. The UK government calls this an alcohol duty, but it is an excise tax charged at the point of production or importation of drinks of alcoholic strength exceeding 1.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) – the percentage of pure alcohol per liter of product.

Japan’s National Tax Agency (NTA) proposed 9 new geographical indications (GIs) for alcoholic beverages from the United Kingdom. NTA will accept public comments on the proposal through January 16, 2023.

U.S. exporters can find ample opportunities in the Iberian Peninsula. Spain is the third-largest European Union (EU) destination for U.S. agricultural products, with Portugal ranking 11th. In 2021, the United States exported $1.6 billion of agricultural products to Spain, or 15 percent of total U.S. agricultural exports to the EU. The United States held a 4 percent market share of Spain’s agricultural imports and 2 percent market share in Portugal, behind other EU member states as a group and Brazil.

As the 14th largest export destination, the United Kingdom (UK) has been an important and growing market for U.S. agricultural products. Shared heritage and cultural ties have continued to bolster U.S.-UK trade. The United States is the second largest UK agricultural supplier, behind the European Union (EU). The market presents many opportunities for intermediate and consumer-oriented products.

During the first quarter of 2020, Spanish data shows a significant drop in wine sales to the domestic and international markets.

The European Commission has published in the EU Official Journal updated legislation amending the EU Regulation on Spirits.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, Spain imported $1.7 billion worth of agricultural, fish and forest products from the United States.

On March 12, 2018, the EU alcoholic beverages industry presented a “joint’ self-regulatory proposal on nutrition labeling and ingredients listing to the European Commission.

The UK has strong social and cultural ties to the United States, demonstrated by the similarities in consumer trends in the retail and foodservice markets.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, Spain imported $1.7 billion worth of agricultural, fish and forest products from the United States.

On March 13, 2017, the European Commission presented its long awaited report examining whether mandatory nutrition labeling requirements should be extended to alcoholic beverages....