Wine Law

516 WINE LAW The weather, which was initially thought to be hostile to the farming of grapes, has been rather beneficial, allowing even two harvests a year: “Venezuela takes us with pleasure and offers us its wines to show that the Tropic has its charms and that for this reason they can have up to two harvests a year. It can be affirmed then that the study, research and dedication in the production of the grape is perceived when raising a glass, smelling wine and, above all, tasting it” 26 . II. THE FIRST REGULATIONS: TARIFFS AND TAXES In 1958, as a part of the restructuring period that followed the fall of the dictatorial government of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, the provisional government issued Decree 173 (22 April) 27 , through which were established total or partial exemptions of rights of importation of machinery and utensils; commodities and other items not produced in sufficient quantity; and containers for consumption or use in established industrial, agricultural or livestock operations. At the same time, a nationalist campaign in defence of Venezuelan agriculture, livestock sector and incipient industry 28 began, under the slogan “Let’s buy what Venezuela produces”. In 1959, with the sight set on industrialisation as a key factor for the country’s development, the national government, from the Ministry of Development, decided, among other measures, to protect tariffs against foreign competition and to exempt customs taxes for commodities and capital goods applied to industry. That same year, the Ministry of Finance issued many decrees limiting the importation of luxury items, including wine 29 . These measures, which basically sought to promote the national industry, had rather an unfavourable effect on the wine sector, as wine producers continued to work with imported concentrated must, which, due to its cost, was more profitable. This landscape only changed, as said before, due to the loss of purchasing power of the bolivar against the dollar. On imports, the signing, in 1993, of the Economic Complementation Agreement No. 23 between Venezuela and Chile 30 is worth mentioning. This 26 Franco, Elias, Lo tropical tiene sus encantos: vinos y viñedos venezolanos, 20 February 2017, in: https://revistaelconocedor.com/lo-tropical-tiene-sus-encantos-vinos-y-vinedos-venezolanos/. 27 Official Gazette No. 25.639, 22 April 1958. 28 Salas Capriles, Roberto, Se busca un industrial , Caracas, Cromotip, 1980, p. 84. 29 Lucas, Gerardo, Industrialización contemporánea en Venezuela. Política industrial del Estado venezolano 1936-2000 , Caracas, Conindustria, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, 2006, pp. 67 and 72. 30 Source : http://www.sice.oas.org/Trade/chiven/CHVENTOC.asp.