Photo: CTV

B.C.-only VQA wine stores like those opened with much fanfare in several Okanagan grocery stores will have to make room on the shelves for U.S. wine.

The new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal struck Sunday requires that B.C. scrap a law banning international wines from grocery store wine shops by November 2019.

"Canada shall ensure that B.C. … eliminate the measures which allow only B.C. wine to be sold on regular grocery store shelves," a letter amended to the USMCA deal reads.

In exchange, the U.S. will drop World Trade Organization disputes launched over the policy.

Earlier this year, U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer blasted the ban as "discriminatory" and "unacceptable."

Across B.C., 27 grocery stores used the B.C.-exclusive wine model, while store-within-a-store shops already have the option to include import wines.

– with files from CTV Vancouver