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Save American Wine Jobs

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We are about $20K short of reaching maximum engagement! Advisors are engaged;  Political PR is on board; Progress really is happening.  I am pinching pennies though and would like to unleash the team to attack the West Wing and get this message to the administration.  Help me hit $60k!

Time to Take It to a New Level: Do not be deceived by the Macron/Trump handshake deal- that only referred to French Sparkling wine in the Digital Services Tax dispute. 

Our grassroots effort to save American wine jobs and stop these ineffective tariffs is working, but D-Day is fast approaching, and we are not out of the woods.  By February 14, the USTR will finish their review of the Large Aircraft Dispute that could potentially tariff all European wine at up to 100%.  Our goal is to push our message to the highest levels of congress and the administration and get wine removed from this tariff cycle.  At this point, we need professional support, and we need it quickly.  Our goal is to employ the best team of professionals and make sure we do not throw away our shot! 

For the previous two weeks, we’ve been in DC making the argument: tariffs on wine are ineffective against our trade adversaries, and they do disproportionate damage to American companies.  The arguments are simple and true: the US is replaceable as a trade partner; the wines are irreplaceable with domestic products; and 75-85% of the selling price of a bottle of wine is profit or taxes taken by American entities. We’ve met with scores of trade professionals and not one has disagreed with this assertion.

Last week, we spent two days in DC mostly planning and strategizing the next steps.  We are winning the argument that wine tariffs are an inefficient trade tool.  The only logical conclusion then is WINE SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THE TARIFF PACKAGE. You can follow the action on our Facebook Group Page 

We have found a team of professionals who have experience removing industries from trade disputes.  We have a network of attorneys, lobbyists, political public relations, and economists who all believe removing wine is possible.  It will take an intense effort over the next two and a half weeks from all parties involved.  We have a great foundation, a nimble and intense plan, and the will to take the absolute best shot at removing wine.

We don’t have much time though, and this kind of engagement is expensive.  With the hopes we can spend the next two weeks working toward our goal of removing wine with the best support team possible, I have upped my Go Fund Me goal to $150,000.  This will give us the war chest we need to act quickly and decisively and to fully engage the best professionals we need to make the strongest case possible.  It will also establish a platform for the next phase of protecting us from future actions.

We hope that the work we have done and transparency we have displayed has built enough trust with the group to make this happen quickly.  There are 35,000+ members of this group, presumably mostly wine professionals.  If 25% give an average of $20, we hit our goal.  Feel free to cover for a friend or two if you are so inclined.  If you would consider making a contribution of $5,000 or greater, please email me at [email redacted] , and we will add you to a list of potential coalition partners.  We have a mechanism for big supporters to officially joining the engagement if they wish. 

For my part, I will continue to act as I always have: independently and for the best interest of my company.  It just so happens that aligns with your best interest as well. In the interest of full disclosure: about $30K has been generously donated to my original Go Fund Me.  My initial ask was for $25K.  I have used those funds to pay travel expenses and conduct a forum on the Hill.  I have not had a chance to audit where we are with the balance of that fund, but any balance will go towards funding this professional initiative.  In other words, other than offsetting expenses, this fund does not benefit me materially.  In the event there is extra funds in the Go Fund Me account or other money raising initiatives, we will use those funds to work on next phase projects like supporting the Pascrell-Arrington Bill to refund “product on the water” from previous and future tariff actions.

FYI- I lowered the goal due to some contributions made straight to the firm.
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Donations 

  • Barbara Blue
    • $50 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer

Harry Root
Organizer
Mt. Pleasant, SC

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