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Article: Storm in a tequila bottle; Mexico and the United States.(A new Mexican-American trade row)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- October 4, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Protectionism, or quality control?
TEQUILA is as Mexican as big hats. To deserve the name, it must be distilled only from the sap of the Mexican blue agave plant. Happily, however, it has become a favourite spirit in the United States, which accounts for over half the world's tequila consumption. A shared taste for margaritas can often soothe the frequently niggling relations between the two countries. But now tequila itself has become the subject of a tetchy trade dispute--one that looks as if it will not be settled over a couple of shorts.
At the moment, 83% of the tequila sold in America is imported in bulk and then bottled locally. Now, Mexico's ...