Alison Leavitt, Managing Director, Wine & Spirits Shippers Association

https://www.wssa.com
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Alison Leavitt

This commentary appeared in the print edition of the Jan. 6, 2020, Journal of Commerce Annual Review and Outlook.

We are continuing to ride the roller coaster of trade, and whether you love it or hate it, the turbulence has no end in sight. Here at the Wine & Spirits Shippers Association (WSSA), we have never had as many calls, emails, and web inquiries as in the past year, and the work we are doing in the alcohol beverage industry to communicate, advocate, and adjust to changes has never been more important. In the past year, the most crucial issues involve trade legislation and international legal cases that brought 25 percent tariffs to our industry.

The critical nature of the changes in trade have brought WSSA closer to other associations involved in our industry and organizations involved in the broader regulatory scope. Every industry association has their focus and skill set, and in these turbulent times, we all need to work together. Due to legislative changes under the Craft Beverage Modernization Act, we found ourselves working directly with CBP on process and policy issues. Due to the WTO Airbus case decision, we found ourselves working with a coalition of associations to fight against retaliatory tariffs affecting an industry that had nothing to do with civil aircraft. For our tequila and mezcal importers, we found ourselves lobbying for passage of the USMCA. And for US beverage exporters, we supported the trade agreement with Japan.

Right now, the transportation piece, while still challenging, is more predictable and easier to deal with than the trade issues. Threats of dramatic increases due to IMO 2020 have faded for the moment, but as we have all learned in the past couple of years, anything can happen, and certainty is a word we cannot use. In the world of trade, we all need each other to navigate through the morass of changes in front of us, sharing information, ideas, and best practices and fighting for what the industry needs.