U.S., Mexico Tussling Over Tequila Bottles. (V. Fox is truely an Agave Worm.)

Rueters ^ | 09/26/03 08:24 | By Richard Cowan

[.cnI redruM]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tequila, the distilled spirit that fueled a decades-old margarita craze in the United States, has landed squarely in the middle of a trade fight between Mexico City and Washington.

Mexico is threatening to cut off all bulk exports of Tequila, claiming it needs to tighten quality controls on the gold-plated namebrand that is owned by the Mexican government and supposedly assures every bottle's high quality. If enacted, all Tequila would be bottled in Mexico.

Mexico is the only nation that produces the alcohol made from fermented sap from the blue agave plant.

But as is usually in the case with trade fights, there are opposing views. U.S. companies suspect that by banning bulk exports used north of the Rio Grande for individual bottling, Mexico is maneuvering to steal American bottling jobs.

Peter Cressy, president of the Distilled Spirits Council, on Wednesday called Mexico's proposal an "ill-conceived action" in violation of world trade rules.

Another U.S. industry official, who asked not to be identified, bluntly said the Mexican government was trying to "create jobs" by moving American bottling operations south.

In early August, as official Washington was mostly shut down, Mexico previewed a new regulation requiring that all Tequila would have to be bottled before export.

The Bush administration, already reeling from 3.3 million private sector job losses under its watch and sensing the potential loss of bottling plant jobs in California, Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, has been in contact with Mexico to protest the move, according to a U.S. Trade Representative's office spokeswoman.

The agency is hoping to head off a late-October official publication of the regulation by Mexico that could go into effect as early as next year.

Allen Johnson, the chief agriculture negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative, told inquiring senators on Tuesday his agency was still reviewing Mexico's proposed regulations and was working with industry to try to resolve the problem.

Last year, the United States consumed 86.4 million bottles of Tequila, more than half of Mexico's total output. Eighty-three percent was shipped to the U.S. in bulk form and bottled here, according to the U.S. industry.

Mexico's Tequila Regulatory Council challenged the notion that job creation was driving the move to kill bulk exports.

Judith Meza Nixon, U.S.-Canada representative for the council, said there is evidence that handlers of bulk Tequila on both sides of the border could be eroding the drink's quality.

In a telephone interview, she said that some bulk shipments from Mexico turned out to be sugar cane alcohol or grains spirits, instead of Tequila. In other instances, U.S. bottlers were found mixing different types of Tequila together, also in violation of Mexican standards, she said.

If Mexico halts bulk shipments, the government would be "protecting the authenticity of a product," which Nixon argued was within international trade rules.

Frank Coleman, a spokesman for the U.S. distillers, said this trade dispute comes as consumption is skyrocketing. That, he said, was because of American's growing love for premium sipping Tequilas and for Tequila-based drinks.

Without Mexico's bulk Tequila, Cressy said, there is the "significant potential" for shortages.

If Mexico goes ahead with this, the United States eventually could file a North American Free Trade Agreement complaint. For now, both industries are saying they have NAFTA on their side.

[.cnI redruM]

No worries. I'm quite happy to drink Gin and Tonics instead. This needs to go on the same list as French Wine.

[Bikers4Bush]

I can do without tequilla as well.

[The KG9 Kid]

They're right, though. Tequila that's bottled outside of Mexico is usually jug tequila that's low-quality which hurts Mexico's reputation for producing fine tequilas.

The same can be said of Dodge and Chevy trucks and SUVs made in Mexico, too. GM and Chrysler should pull out of Mexico and make their products in the USA to enhance functional quality.

[LibWhacker]

Mexico

Time for America to flick that leech off its back once and for all.

[vetvetdoug]

Long before tequila there was bourbon, whiskey, gin, and vodka. The US can do without tequila and lets see what Mexico can do with all of their alcohol. NAFTA is fine with the mesicans as long as business goes south, but let some of it go north all hell breaks loose. Mexico is about as pro American as bin Laden.

[Defiant]

Why don't we make Tequila here? I assume we can grow blue agave plants as well as the Mexicans? Our wine is now better than France's, I bet we could make better tequila. Why play their game?

[Caipirabob]

This is true idiocy in action. If I'm correct, it took years for Tequila sellers to build a market for this generally unappealing drink. Most Latino nation produce fine aguardientes that range from "ouzo" style liquors to fine Brasilian Cachacas. Any one of them tastes far superior to Tequila.

All they need to do to destroy the market is give Americans a reason to try something else.

But then Vincent Fox helps no one but himself anyways.

[Defiant]

I decided to do my own research. Here's what I found:

What is the blue Agave plant?

Only in Mexico, in the region known as Jalisco, can the plant from which all tequilas derive their unique taste be found. In fact, by government law, to be officially designated "Tequila," a minimum of fifty one percent of the spirits in Tequila must be derived from the exotic, cactus-like blue agave.

More than 100 million of these plants cover the hills of the Sierra Madre region, west of Guadalajara. The Agave plants are lined up in rows roughly 1,000 to an acre. Each plant can take up to ten years to reach maturity. As it matures, new seeds are planted to yield new offspring. The blue agave plants are spiked, with sword like leaves and a green pineapple-like center called the "piña" (Spanish for pineapple.) When the "piña" is mature it can weigh anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds.

Agave is derived from the Greek word meaning "admirable" or "noble". The only species of agave is used for Tequila, is the blue agave. Although similar to the other agave plants, the Blue Agave has blue-hued leaves, not the usual green leaves common to most agave plants. The Blue Agave may look like a cactus, but it is actually from the lily family. We need to borrow a few of those 100 million plants and move them to Arizona. That will solve this problem.

[discostu]

We could make fermented blue agave juice, but because of the way Mexico has patented the name only companies that get the approval of the Mexican government can make "Tequila". BTW to make that kind of restriction Mexico followed the patern France had established with Champagne and Cognac, arguably you could make something functionally identical but you can't get the name without approval.

[.cnI redruM]

Here's a plan, the next time a major US agricultural firm hooks up with a coyote to arrainge for 'the help', he could also ask these guys to import something else......

Within 25 years, Agave Cactus could bloom across AZ and NM. I wonder what Vincente The Estupidimente would think of La Migra then.

[El Gato]

I seem to remember that piñas (the real ones, not the portion of the Blue Agave plant) once only grew in Thailand. Nowadays we generally associate pineapples with Hawaii, even though they are not native there, and were not grown there until about the time it became a US territory. As went the pineapple, so can go the blue agave.

That said I have little use for marjoritas, even though they are availble in fast food joints here in San Antonio, but to each his own.

[El Gato]

I seem to remember that piñas (the real ones, not the portion of the Blue Agave plant) once only grew in Thailand. Nowadays we generally associate pineapples with Hawaii, even though they are not native there, and were not grown there until about the time it became a US territory. As went the pineapple, so can go the blue agave.

That said I have little use for marjoritas, even though they are availble in fast food joints here in San Antonio, but to each his own.

[Defiant]

Fine by me. We could call it Margarita Juice for all I care, market it as "better than Mexican tequila." I drink sparkling wine now instead of champagne, since I don't buy French products. No difference.

[Defiant]

I like a good margarita, but shots are a different story. Most tequilas are hard to drink, except in a margarita. However, there's a brand of tequila that a friend of mine buys for parties, it's like $50 for a small bottle, and it is smoooooth but deadly.

[.cnI redruM]

BS machoism aside, which would you honestly prefer,

1 shot of tequila, 1 shot Jack Daniels, or 1 shot Johnie Walker?

I'll down my Good Old Jack and feel like patriot. It sort of brings a tear to my eye.....

[Adrastus]

I read the article. Pondered it for a while. Came to a tentative conclusion about it. Prayed over the conclusion, as one should do with regards to all matters of seeming import, and the answer came with crystal clarity: Who gives a furry rats butt what Mexico does with regards to anything. Mexico has been a net liability in the world since Santa Anna got his arrogant arse kicked out of Texas and has made no significant contribution to the quality of life either before or since. Mr Fox and his gang have a super-inflated sense of importance that beggars the imagination.

I have wasted more time and effort on this issue than it merits and for that I apologize. Some things just gets my goat. This is one of them.

[rintense]

Trade Mexico the jobs for illegals. They can take the jobs away from the US, but they have to take 5 illegals for every one American job lost.

Mexico sucks.

[discostu]

It's a branding challenge, it can be done as sparkling wine shows it's just a bit of an uphill climb. And you'd probably want a handful of companies to be participating to help defer the costs and amplify the advertising noise.

[discostu]

$50 a bottle is probably Patrons. El Tesoro is super smooth. For the best dollar/ quality ration I recommend Hornitos at about $25, the difference in quality between that and the higher priced ones isn't high enough to justify the cost if you're not an aficianado. Also keep in mind that lighter tequilas are smoother, there's Anejo (gold), Repasoda (kind of a blush) and Silver (which of these three do you think Americans prefer).

I spent four years working for a guy that grew up in Jalisco, gained a lot of after-hours education.

[.cnI redruM]

A-men. Here are some perverse ways we can have fun with illegal aliens from Mexico.


1) When we capture an illegal Mexican, we adminsiter an IQ test. We keep the smart ones and send back the deadwood.

2) Send all captured Mexican illegal immigrants to Guatamala just to see how they are received.

3) Institute the DOJ Swap A Convicted Felon Program. They send us La Migra, we send them El Manson.