UK to adjust taxation of alcoholic beverages

BBC reports that GB will institute higher taxes on drinks with higher alcohol content. They expect this to bring attention to English wines. White wine taxes are to decrease. Red wine taxes are to increase. What am I not getting? And why doesn't vodka change?

But the UK government's plans to reform alcohol taxation might not apply in Northern Ireland due to the protocol. The protocol keeps Northern Ireland in the EU single market for goods. As a result, EU excise duty rules continue to apply. The EU sets a minimum tax rate for alcoholic drinks but member states can apply tax at a rate higher than the minimum. But they may make a deal with the EU on this issue. So, northerners will shop for higher alcohol content drinks in the south and Irish Republicans will cross the border to get cheap British wines in the north. 

How is this an important post-Brexit issue to address? 

Anyway, this weekend the EU and US have agreed to eliminate the whiskey tariffs in response to Trumps's steel retaliation trade war. But the Brits will keep theirs in force it appears. 

Record-breaking heat wave to hit US west coast

A record-breaking heatwave is about to hit the west coast of the United States during the worst drought on record. 

From California to Oregon and Washington State, temperatures are expected to remain well above normal for days. The National Weather Service has issued warnings. 

⚠️Record-Breaking and Dangerous Heatwave coming to the West. Over 80 sites are forecast to break daily high temperature records starting this weekend. All-time June monthly records could also be broken in some locations in the Pacific Northwest.  

https://weather.gov/safety/heat

What is that going to do to the 2021 grape harvest and all other crops?  The last time California had a record-breaking heatwave, it came at harvest time in September 2017 and turned the grapes into raisins. 

Update 28-06-21

It's hit as predicted and it is unprecedented. Portland, Oregon reached a temperature of 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44.4 Celsius) on Sunday, breaking the all-time record of 108 F (42.2C) which was set just a day earlier. Seattle this 104. 

When temperatures reach this high, grapes shut down to conserve water. If this continues, mitigation strategies will have to be implemented. 

Extreme drought in the US

Houseboats on a shrinking Lake Oroville

They estimate that 88% of the western states are experiencing drought. Four states are under extreme drought conditions which are expected to get even worse. The entirety of four states -- California, Oregon, Utah and Nevada -- have drought conditions. The situation is dire as ponds, streams and wells dry up and cattle go thirsty just as summer is approaching. The fire situation is expected to bring a new level of tragic loss to the region.  The Storm Prediction Center's fire weather outlook was classified as "critical" or "extreme" across parts of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.

Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir, is at its lowest level since it was filled and electricity production at the Hoover dam is down by 25%. The Colorado River which supplies over 40 million people will deliver 30% less water this year. About 130 houseboats have been removed from a shrinking Lake Oroville in California. 

Las Vegas, home to 2.2 million people, gets just 4 inches of rain a year. That's unsustainable. Having lawns is being made illegal in some places. Utahns are being asked to pray for rain while farmers are being asked not to grow. Some are predicting a megadrought that will last many decades. God help the USA.

They haven't really measured the extent of damage the last season did to the vineyards. This coming season can do nothing but add to the injury. 

I have said since we moved to Ireland, thank God for being on an island in the Atlantic. I am grateful for every drop of rain we get.

Lake Oroville Dam before the drought

 

How tariffs have affected wine sales

An analysis in Barron's and carried in Penta described how US tariffs on EU goods have affected wine sales in the US. Last October, the U.S. government began imposing 25% tariffs on still wine from several European countries in retaliation for European subsidy of Airbus. Those tariffs were supposed to expire now, but the US government has decided to let them continue. 

Tariffs on alcoholic beverages are causing harm to U.S. small businesses and the hospitality industry. The 25% tariffs mean that for every US$1 in harm dealt to EU businesses an estimated US$4.52 is dealt in damage to U.S. businesses. This is hard to absorb on top of the Covid-19 pandemic fallout. 

The US has a prohibition-era law that requires only US-owned businesses to deliver wine to consumers in a three-tier system. The U.S. distribution system requires wine producers (which can include importers) to sell to wholesalers, which then sell to retailers, which sell to consumers, meaning margins for most of these businesses are relatively modest. 

Allowing the tariffs to continue has sent a message to all these small businesses. I hope they take that message to the polls in November.