34 State Wine & Spirits Wholesaler and Broker Associations Join Coalition Letter Opposing USPS Shipment of Beverage Alcohol

Sep 23, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Industry Coalition Letter Circulates Congress Opposing USPS Shipment of Beverage Alcohol over Public Health and Safety Concerns, Weakened Enforcement, and 85 Years of Existing State Authority and Regulatory Oversight

Today, 34 state wine and spirits wholesaler associations joined national industry partners Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), American Beverage Licensees (ABL) and American Distilled Spirits Alliance (ADSA) in signing a letter to Congress detailing the dangerous impact USPS shipment of beverage alcohol could have on the U.S. beverage alcohol marketplace as well as public health and safety.

The U.S. alcohol marketplace is the safest, most diverse, and well-regulated in the world thanks in large part to the efficient and effective state-based regulatory model guaranteed by the Twenty-First Amendment. Public health and safety concerns like increased underage access and increased access to dangerous counterfeit products as well as, limited enforcement and regulatory oversight threaten to change that as direct-to-consumer (DTC) models of distribution, like those proposed in HR 3287, are considered by lawmakers.

State Associations are actively working to educate state lawmakers about the dangers of DTC shipment of beverage alcohol and the unintended consequences that the loosely regulated e-commerce DTC wine marketplace has had on state tax revenue and enforcement agencies as DTC spirits shipping bills are considered in state houses across the country.

To read the letter in full click HERE.

A full list of the 34 state associations that signed onto the letter can be found below:

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Arizona

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of California, Inc.

Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Colorado, Inc.

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut

D.C. Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers

Delaware Alcohol Beverage Wholesalers Association

Wine and Spirits Distributors of Florida, Inc.

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Georgia

Hawaii Liquor Wholesalers Association

Idaho Beer & Wine Distributors Association

Wine & Spirits Distributors of Illinois

Wine & Spirits Distributors of Indiana

Kansas Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, Inc.

Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Kentucky, Inc.

Beer Industry League Louisiana

Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of Massachusetts, Inc.

Licensed Beverage Distributors of Maryland

Maine Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association

Michigan Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association

Minnesota Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association

Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association

New Jersey Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association

New Mexico Beverage Wholesalers

North Carolina Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association

Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio

Oregon Beer & Wine Distributors Association

Alcohol Beverage Wholesalers Dealers of Rhode Island

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of South Carolina

Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee, Inc.

Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Texas

Virginia Wine Wholesalers Association, Inc.

Association of Washington Spirits & Wine Distributors

West Virginia Spirits Brokers Association

Wyoming Spirits Brokers Association

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