New health warnings by Ireland set to be the world’s strictest on beer, wine and spirits have sparked alarm from alcohol-producing countries that argue the labels would impose an obstacle to trade. The US and Mexico have raised concerns over the legislation ahead of World Trade Organisation committee meetings this week. Argentina, Australia, Chile, Cuba and New Zealand have also expressed reservations about the law, which Ireland passed last month.
In February, nine countries including France, Italy and Spain had sent the European Commission a letter asking that the European Commission check the legality of Ireland’s law. “It creates a harmful precedent for the free movement of products in the various member states of the European Union,” the nine countries said in the letter, obtained by Bloomberg News. The other nations were Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovakia, Portugal and Hungary.