A letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade...

On behalf of the Members of Spirits and Cocktails Australia and the Australian Distillers Association, we register our appreciation at the ongoing engagement by Departmental officials regarding Australia’s Free Trade agenda. We receive useful and timely advice about the status of negotiations, and a receptive audience to the key priorities for our industry, as Australian-made spirits and pre-mixed spirits beverages look to expand their exports into new and emerging markets.

We are aware that the Government of Ireland has notified the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade Committee of its intention to mandate changes to the labelling of alcohol beverages, including distilled spirits and pre-mixed spirits-based beverages (also known as RTDs – “Ready to Drink”). Section 12 of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill in Ireland contains the obligation to provide health information and health warnings on beverage containers. These include warnings around the link between alcohol and pregnancy, cancers, and other disease, as well as calorie information and the number of grams of alcohol per container.