March 27th – The National Direct Shipping Bill of Rights has reached a major milestone of support with more than 100 organizations, including 93 producer businesses and twelve producer associations, agreeing on the set of principles designed to help educate policymakers and modernize direct shipping regulations. Add your name to the list of supporters here.
The list of supporters includes wineries, distilleries, meaderies and cideries from across the United States.
The Bill of Rights was created to update the “Model Direct Shipping Bill” adopted by the National Conference of State Legislatures, Task Force on the Wine Industry, on November 5, 1997, in Washington D.C. The Bill of Rights aims to create a uniform approach to direct shipping-related laws across the nation. In fact, all the Direct to Consumer (DTC) concepts and structures exist today. Therefore, the Bill of Rights policies will help producers, consumers, and government regulators.
“As an industry consisting mainly of craft producers, we need to gain consensus on important policies related to direct shipping to present a unified voice and help policymakers understand our approach is comprehensive, safe and beneficial to regulators,” said Steven Harrison, Chair of the Craft Wine Association Advocacy Group and Vinoshipper CEO. “After all, direct shipping is critical for craft wineries to survive and compete against major corporations that have a tremendous advantage in distribution and marketing.”
The set of principles includes basic tenets, such as all participants need to be licensed and compliant with all laws and shipping requirements, ranging from electronic age verification to proper package labeling. The Bill of Rights serves as an agenda for craft producers to access open and fair markets and thrive from the ability to self-distribute their products as this is the only option available to them.
Last year, the Craft Wine Association, in partnership with Vinoshipper, invited regional associations, and industry professionals nationwide to review and comment on a draft document, which was finalized after a series of meetings with association members and industry representatives.
The Craft Wine Association has long advocated for the modernization of regulations that will benefit independent operators who have struggled to compete with large corporations for too long under archaic rules.
In 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14036 on promoting competition in the American economy which seeks to explore fair, open, and competitive markets for craft producers, among other things. In response to the order in 2022, the U.S. Treasury Department released a report titled ‘Competition in the Market Place for Beer, Wine, and Spirits’ which set the stage for regulatory reform that may prevent market consolidation and help small producers thrive. Regulatory proceedings by the TTB are currently underway.
See the existing list of supporters here and let us know also if you would like to sign on to support these common-sense approaches.
