I certainly don’t embrace invoking the Bioterrorism Act:
Washington is demanding a new wine accord by July 15 to replace one which expired in 2003 and which would enshrine American wine-making practices banned in Europe.
These include adding oak wood chips to barrels of wine to hasten the ageing process, adding water to must (the grape juice before fermentation is complete), and the use of ion extractors to reduce acidity.
Representatives of struggling French wine producers appealed at the international Vinexpo wine fair in southwestern Bordeaux this week to Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau and External Trade Minister Christine Lagarde to protect their interests in the negotiations.
European Union officials, pushed by traditionalists, are so far refusing to extend a current dispensation allowing the American practices, but US officials say that if no agreement is reached they will tighten application of the Bioterrorism Act.
This law, introduced after the September 11 2001 attacks in the United States, covers imports of all food and drink.
That’s a creative application of legislation. Which means it’s poor legislation.
Pass a good law, prevent or punish a specific act. Pass the normal legislation, and the creative applications never stop.
(Submitted to the Outside the Beltway Traffic Jam.)
