The scorching late summer sun of northern Portugal is ripening the black, super-sweet grapes that will go to make what European Union rules say is the only wine that can be called port.

Wine making has for several centuries been a way of life for many families here in the picturesque valley of the River Douro. It's a tradition the EU regulations are designed to protect.

"If it wasn't for wine, the Douro region would be on its knees," says 59-year-old Jose Pereira, a foreman for the Rozes port wine producer, as behind him two dozen local people pick the first grapes of the annual harvest. "Wine is our wealth."

For these workers and the local port wine producers, just like the makers of French champagne, Greek feta cheese or Italy's Parma ham, the EU's name-protection laws help ensure their livelihood by shielding them from industrial-scale, lower-cost copycats.

But port wine's second-largest export market is the United Kingdom, and the impending British exit from the EU is throwing port's almost 50 million euros' (58 million US dollars) worth of annual business there into doubt.

That's because London conspicuously isn't saying whether after leaving the EU next year it will keep the bloc's name protection rules. It could, for example, choose to let in rival port producers from the British Commonwealth, such as South Africa and Australia, as it casts around for post-Brexit trade deals.

Authorities in the United States have long fought against the EU's Geographical Identification (GI) laws, saying they amount to trade barriers - an argument that is not lost on the British government as it eyes closer business ties with Washington.

Product name protection is not a minor issue.

Last week, the EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier singled it out as one of the three main outstanding questions, alongside a possible future border in Ireland and working out the post-Brexit EU-UK relationship.

Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London, says Geographical Identification laws are "a very sensitive issue which could jeopardize the whole Brexit negotiations."

He reckons the British government, aware that the UK is a major market for the more than 3,000 EU-protected items, is using the issue as "a bargaining chip" to win advantages in other areas of the negotiations.

EU protected names are prized by businesses. The labelling comes with strict regulations on production and is regarded as a quality guarantee that helps branding and sales.

The EU says the scheme seeks to protect local economies and cultures against misuse of names or imitations.

The policy has been a flashpoint before, being a factor in holding up a trade deal between the EU and the United States, where Geographical Identification rules fall under trademark law and where feta and parmesan, for example, are considered generic names.

Portugal's port wine industry offers a look into how a protected name earns its special status and what's at stake for families and businesses in the Brexit talks.

The Douro Valley has an abundance of arresting landscapes along an almost 200-kilometre (120-mile) stretch, reaching from the Atlantic almost into Spain. The spectacular scenery places it on a par with other outstanding European wine regions, such as the Rhine Valley in Germany or France's Loire.

The valley's steep and stony slopes are scored with contours of green vines that ripple back from the river in corrugated lines. Terraces of ancient walls, hand-built in local brown slate, hold gravity at bay. The quiet landscape is punctuated with ridgetop clusters of whitewashed houses and port wine estates called 'quintas.'

Several factors, producers say, make this a singular place: it has weather extremes, with summer bringing heat well above 30 degrees Celsius and winter bringing snow and ice; grape varieties such as Touriga nacional, Tinta roriz and Barroca are unique to Portugal; the poor, bone-dry soil means fewer grapes but a high concentration of sugar; and the slopes, up to 600 metres (2,000 feet) high, offer varying angles of exposure to the sun.

Tractors and trucks have replaced the mules and oxen of yore, but plenty has remained unchanged - including grape-treading in a knee-high granite tank called a 'lagar,' which remains common.

Port is the queen of Portuguese wines. A bottle of 19th-century vintage port, which is the top of the range, can fetch more than 3,000 euros (3,500 US dollars) at auction.

It is a fortified wine, made by adding grape spirit to halt the fermentation and keep the grapes' natural sweetness. It allows wine makers to produce deep, delicately textured wines admired around the world.

It is an ironic twist of Brexit that Britishness runs through the history of Portugal's port wine trade like marbling.

The port business was largely created by, and flourished because of, the British. The port companies, or 'houses,' are called Taylor's, Croft's, Churchill's, Warre's, Sandeman, and Symington, among others.

Taylor's, for example, was established in the Douro Valley in 1744 by Bartholomew Bearsley. After him came, among other bosses, Joseph Taylor, John Fladgate, Frank Yeatman and Alistair Robertson, whose son-in-law Adrian Bridge is now the Managing Director.

Bridge's office is in Vila Nova da Gaia, on the coast by the city of Porto, where the port companies have traditionally brought their wines for aging and shipping.

Standing amid hundreds of centuries-old barrels piled in rows in a musky cellar with granite walls and a wooden roof, Bridge notes that Brexit is already hurting business as the British pound's drop in value against the euro has pushed up port's price on UK shelves.

Taylor's sells port to 105 countries around the world, but Britain is far and away the most important he says, though plans are afoot to expand port's presence in other markets.

He adds, with typical British understatement, that he expects Brexit to "require some degree of readjustment."

Raymond Reynolds, owner of Raymond Reynolds Ltd, a specialist UK Wine importer is not too worried about geographical denominations, which he believes are superceded by historic links between suppliers and buyers.

"They are trusted in terms of their quality and through to retailers and consumers that works as well," he says, adding "the only problem with Brexit is the uncertainty."

Britain and the EU have not yet finalised their divorce agreement, stirring fears among businesses of disruption to trade.

Douro Valley, Portugal - 12 September, 2018

1. Pan of Douro River near Pinhao, Douro Valley

2. Wide of slope with green vines

3. Mid of Ferreira port wine slope

4. Mid of Alves de Sousa port wine slope

5. Wide of protected landscape with sign

6. Close of sign reading (Portuguese) "Douro Wine Valley, World Heritage"

7. Change of focus from slope to vine leaf

8. Workers arriving to harvest

9. Tilt up from bucket to workers going up the hill

10. Close of bucket with grapes

11. Mid of workers

12. Close of worker cutting vines

13. Close of bucket filled with grapes

14. Tilt down from sun to workers walking

15. Set up shot for Jose Pereira, foreman of Rozes port wine producer

16. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Jose Pereira, foreman of Rozes port wine producer:

"If it wasn't for wine there would be a crisis, both for our employers and for us. Without the wine the Douro region would be on its knees. Wine is our wealth."

17. Tractor carrying grapes up hill

18. Wide of Quinta da Gricha entrance

19. Workers receiving and processing grapes from the harvest for Churchill's port wine production house

20. Various of grapes being processed

21. Tilt down of Rozes wine barrels

22. Wide of old bottles of port wine

23. Change of focus between vintage port wine bottles

24. SOUNDBITE (Portuguese) Luciano Madureira, oenologist, Rozes port wine production:

"Port wine is good because it's from here, from this region. This is a unique region, where people are very important, the climate, the soil – which is not very rich, eager to produce more but that can't give more than what it already gives. We are in the mountains so what we do is always in small scale but with extraordinary quality."

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal - 11 September, 2018

25. Entrance to Taylor's port wine cellars house

26. Close of Taylor's symbol

27. Wide of wine barrels at cellar

28. Set up shots for Taylor's managing director Adrian Bridge

29. SOUNDBITE (English) Adrian Bridge, Managing Director, Taylor's port wine house:

"Well, I think that clearly when we are selling a product like Port - which we have done for hundreds of years – we have seen many disruptions, of war and pestilence over the centuries and perhaps if one puts the context of Brexit in these terms of an unfortunate blip that may cause some problems and probably requires some degree of readjustment, I think that would be fair."

30. Wide of royal warrant of appointment

31. Close of royal warrant of appointment reading (English) "By appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II suppliers of Port Wine, Taylor's Port Portugal"

London, UK - 14 September, 2018

32. Various set up shots of Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London

33. SOUNDBITE (English) Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer in intellectual property law at City, University of London:

"I don't think the Europeans will accept, the EU will accept a Brexit deal which does not protect feta cheese, Parmesan cheese or champagne wine also because the entire final Brexit deal will need to be ratified by national parliaments, 27 national parliaments. Can we imagine the Greek parliament or the Italian parliament or the French parliament having to ratify a final Brexit deal that does not strongly protect feta, parmesan or champagne? It will be difficult. That's why a deadlock on this issue could jeopardize the entire Brexit deal."

London, UK - 19 September, 2018

34. Wide shot of the Raymond Reynolds stall at "The Dirty Dozen" wine and spirits tasting event in Glazier Hall, London

35. Attendee tasting a wine

36. Pan up from bottles of Niepoort port wine to wine tasters

37. Close up of wine being poured

38. Shot of Raymond Reynolds pouring some Niepoort Bioma port

39. Cutaway corks

40. SOUNDBITE: (English) Raymond Reynolds, Owner of Raymond Reynolds Ltd, a specialist UK Wine importer:

"I don't have any fear in that sense (of Geographical Identification ending after Brexit) because you know your sources of supply, we work with our growers, there is a historic link. They are trusted in terms of their quality and through to retailers and consumers that works as well so the only problem with Brexit is the uncertainty."

41. Tilt up of bottle of port

42. Various of Raymond Reynolds with customers

LEAD IN:

With Brexit uncertainty and US sanctions hitting the industry, it's a tough time for Spanish wine makers.

But while many fear the UK and US import markets could collapse, they are also turning their attentions to the east and growing markets in Asia - where wine is increasingly becoming a favoured tipple.

STORY-LINE:

Over 2,000 different Spanish wines are being uncorked, poured, sniffed, swirled and tasted at Madrid's two-day International Wine Fair.

But despite the constant clink of glasses, the Spanish wine industry is going through a period of deep uncertainty due to Brexit and new US sanctions that are hitting the industry hard.

"It is as if everyone had stopped, while saying: 'Well, what's coming now?'" says Beatriz Garcia, commercial director of AvanteSelecta winery.

"There is a general halt, even though those measures have not yet been applied. There is a feeling of confusion and total uncertainty."

AvanteSelecta is Spain´s leading wine group, producing over 2.5 million bottles annually with strong commercial relationships with the US and UK.

In the continued absence of an exit deal between the UK and the EU, the threat of the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal still looms.

That spells bad news for the Spanish wine market that relies heavily on UK consumption.

According to data from the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV), the UK counts for a third of all international sales of Rioja.

As a whole, the export market to the UK is worth 333 million euros.

Alberto Saldon is from the Zamora Company winery that owns La Rioja based wine producers Ramon Bilbao.  

"The EU exit of the British market is going to be a blow to the Spanish agri-food industry, specifically for the wine sector in which we are, because exports will be charged with fees and tariffs," he says.

"For a winery like ours, almost Rioja centenary, (the UK) it is a key and strategic market. We have to think what we are going to do to save this circumstance that we cannot control. Undoubtedly, it will affect our income statement."

The fizz is also waning in the Catalan region, famous for its sparkling white wine Cava.

"Market turbulence, trade wars, they are never good," says Toni De la Rosa Torello, the director of Torello winery.

"The Spanish agri-food sector is very powerful and every time there is a little earthquake, from the commercial point of view, we are worried, logically.

"In the last years, we have invested many efforts in export, (we have done) a great economic effort. And when something like this happens, something that your winery, the quality of your wine, you cannot control, then you get nervous."

But Spanish producers have been trying to take some steps to soften the blow of Brexit if and when it falls.

At the beginning of 2019, in order to ensure that British lovers of Spanish wine do not run out, many producers increased their stock of bottles in the UK.

Winemakers are also taking advice on the prospect of having to change labelling and how to deal with a potential collapse of the British pound.

In addition, exporters are working with the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) that is talking to other EU wine associations about getting an agreement with the UK government on tariffs, certificates of origin and labelling.

"These uncertainties are a question of what will happen from the practical point of view," says the general manager of the FEV, José Luis Benitez.

"More than the fall in sales, (these uncertainties are about) what will happen with the shipment, what wineries are going to need.

"We have always said that in a mature market (like the UK), which is a very good connoisseur of Spanish wine, the fall in sales could come from other causes: for example, by an economic recession that could be produced by Brexit. For example, by a depreciation of the pound that could make our wines more expensive."

At the same time, Spain is among the four countries affected by new U.S. tariffs on European food, wine and other goods in response to illegal EU subsidies to plane maker Airbus.

The U.S. put tariffs worth $7.5 billion on EU goods like wine, cheese and olive oil, following a green light from the World Trade Organisation in a case involving illegal EU subsidies for Airbus.

The tariffs, which took effect on October 18, are ten percent for EU aircraft and 25 percent for everything else.

Spanish wine (fresh grapes, not sparkling), in less than two-litre bottles with less than 14 percent alcohol content, are target for a 25 percent duty.

In 2018, Spain exported 90 million litres of wine to the United States worth 325 million euros, according to the OEMV.

"Brexit will be for all European wines, affecting the French, Italians, Germans, which are our great competitors worldwide, both in quantity and quality," explains Adolfo Gatell, general manager of the Peñin Spanish wines guide.

"On the other hand, the United States tariffs are only for the wines of those countries that participated in the Airbus project because it is a reprisal for the EU economic help.

"So, this will not affect other (competitor) countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria. Other countries that are not within the (Airbus project)."

But there is still reason to celebrate.

Faced with this economic scenario, Spanish wineries are looking for solutions in other markets.

Thanks to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), many wineries are knocking on doors in Canada and Japan.

Asia - particularly China, Hong Kong and South Korea - are also hot tickets for Spanish producers.

With a middle-class increasingly thirsty for reds, whites and bubbly, Spanish wine producers are pinning hopes on the China market.

Torres Sangre de Toro is one of the biggest foreign wines in China.

According to OEMV figures, in 2018, Spain exported 81 million litres of wine to China, worth 156 million euros.

Madrid, Spain - 28 October 2019

1. Close of man sniffing and swirling glass of wine and drinking it

2. Mid of two women laughing while clinking glasses and drinking wine

3. Close of women swirling glasses of white wine

4. Mid of a man uncorking bottle of wine

5. Close of man pouring red wine into glass

6. Mid of two Asian men sniffing, swirling and tasting wine

7. Close of woman sniffing and tasting wine

8. Wide of wine fair floor

9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Beatriz Garcia, Commercial Director of AvanteSelecta wine group:

"It is as if everyone had stopped, while saying: 'Well, what's coming now?' So, there is a general halt, even though those measures have not yet been applied. There is a feeling of confusion and total uncertainty."

10. Tilt up of man uncorking bottle of wine

11. Wide of man pouring Rioja wine for visitors

12. Mid of visitors tasting Rioja wine

13. Close of man swirling glass of red wine

14. Close of glass of red wine being contrasted against white tablecloth

15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alberto Saldon, Spokesperson for Zamora Company winery:

"The EU exit of the British market is going to be a blow to the Spanish agri-food industry, specifically for the wine sector in which we are, because exports will be charged with fees and tariffs. For a winery like ours, almost Rioja centenary, (the UK) it is a key and strategic market. We have to think what we are going to do to save this circumstance that we cannot control. Undoubtedly, it will affect our income statement."

16. Close of bottle of sparkling white wine known as Cava being uncorked

17. Close sparkling white wine known as Cava being poured

18. Mid of two men tasting Cava in front of bottles

19. Tilt up from glass of sparkling white wine known as Cava to woman smiling and clinking glass

20. Various of Toni De la Rosa Torello, Director of Torello winery, pouring and tasting sparkling wine

21. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Toni De la Rosa Torello, Director of Torello winery:

"Market turbulence, trade wars, they are never good. The Spanish agri-food sector is very powerful and every time there is a little earthquake, from the commercial point of view, we are worried, logically. In the last years, we have invested many efforts in export, (we have done) a great economic effort. And when something like this happens, something that your winery, the quality of your wine, you cannot control, then you get nervous."

22. Close of white wine being swirled in wine glass

23. Close of man tasting and drinking white wine

24. Wide of wine tasting room

25. Close of man sniffing two different wines

26. Mid of visitors tasting rose wine

27. Close of man swirling glass of rose wine, sniffing it and tasting it

Madrid, Spain - 23 October 2019

28. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Luis Benitez, General Manager, Spanish Wine Federation (FEV):

"Actually, these uncertainties are a question of what will happen from the practical point of view. More than the fall in sales, (these uncertainties are about) what will happen with the shipment, what wineries are going to need. We have always said that in a mature market (like the UK), which is a very good connoisseur of Spanish wine, the fall in sales could come from other causes: for example, by an economic recession that could be produced by Brexit. For example, by a depreciation of the pound that could make our wines more expensive."

FILE: Mezalocha, Spain - 7 May 2018

29. Various aerial shots of vineyards of Pago Ayles Winery

30. Wide of workers cleaning vineyard in preparation for grape growing season

Madrid, Spain - 28 October 2019

31. Close of red wine being poured into glasses

32. Mid of wine tasting room

33. Close of 2020 Peñin guidebook

34. Wide of wine fair floor

35. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Adolfo Gatell, General Manager, Peñin guide:

"The situation between what could happen with the United States and Brexit is much different. Brexit will be for all European wines, affecting the French, Italians, Germans, which are our great competitors worldwide, both in quantity and quality. On the other hand, the United States tariffs are only for the wines of those countries that participated in the Airbus project because it is a reprisal for the EU economic help. So, this will not affect other (competitor) countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria. Other countries that are not within the (Airbus project)."

36. Mid of Asian men tasting wine

37. Close of Asian men tasting wine

38. Wide of two Asian women tasting wine

39. Close of Asian man taking picture of red wine

40. Zoom out from close of glasses clinking to wide of men drinking wine

LEAD IN:

With Brexit uncertainty and US sanctions hitting the industry, it's a tough time for Spanish wine makers.

But while many fear the UK and US import markets could collapse, they are also turning their attentions to the east and growing markets in Asia - where wine is increasingly becoming a favoured tipple.

STORY-LINE:

Over 2,000 different Spanish wines are being uncorked, poured, sniffed, swirled and tasted at Madrid's two-day International Wine Fair.

But despite the constant clink of glasses, the Spanish wine industry is going through a period of deep uncertainty due to Brexit and new US sanctions that are hitting the industry hard.

"It is as if everyone had stopped, while saying: 'Well, what's coming now?'" says Beatriz Garcia, commercial director of AvanteSelecta winery.

"There is a general halt, even though those measures have not yet been applied. There is a feeling of confusion and total uncertainty."

AvanteSelecta is Spain´s leading wine group, producing over 2.5 million bottles annually with strong commercial relationships with the US and UK.

In the continued absence of an exit deal between the UK and the EU, the threat of the UK crashing out of the bloc without a deal still looms.

That spells bad news for the Spanish wine market that relies heavily on UK consumption.

According to data from the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV), the UK counts for a third of all international sales of Rioja.

As a whole, the export market to the UK is worth 333 million euros.

Alberto Saldon is from the Zamora Company winery that owns La Rioja based wine producers Ramon Bilbao.  

"The EU exit of the British market is going to be a blow to the Spanish agri-food industry, specifically for the wine sector in which we are, because exports will be charged with fees and tariffs," he says.

"For a winery like ours, almost Rioja centenary, (the UK) it is a key and strategic market. We have to think what we are going to do to save this circumstance that we cannot control. Undoubtedly, it will affect our income statement."

The fizz is also waning in the Catalan region, famous for its sparkling white wine Cava.

"Market turbulence, trade wars, they are never good," says Toni De la Rosa Torello, the director of Torello winery.

"The Spanish agri-food sector is very powerful and every time there is a little earthquake, from the commercial point of view, we are worried, logically.

"In the last years, we have invested many efforts in export, (we have done) a great economic effort. And when something like this happens, something that your winery, the quality of your wine, you cannot control, then you get nervous."

But Spanish producers have been trying to take some steps to soften the blow of Brexit if and when it falls.

At the beginning of 2019, in order to ensure that British lovers of Spanish wine do not run out, many producers increased their stock of bottles in the UK.

Winemakers are also taking advice on the prospect of having to change labelling and how to deal with a potential collapse of the British pound.

In addition, exporters are working with the Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) that is talking to other EU wine associations about getting an agreement with the UK government on tariffs, certificates of origin and labelling.

"These uncertainties are a question of what will happen from the practical point of view," says the general manager of the FEV, José Luis Benitez.

"More than the fall in sales, (these uncertainties are about) what will happen with the shipment, what wineries are going to need.

"We have always said that in a mature market (like the UK), which is a very good connoisseur of Spanish wine, the fall in sales could come from other causes: for example, by an economic recession that could be produced by Brexit. For example, by a depreciation of the pound that could make our wines more expensive."

At the same time, Spain is among the four countries affected by new U.S. tariffs on European food, wine and other goods in response to illegal EU subsidies to plane maker Airbus.

The U.S. put tariffs worth $7.5 billion on EU goods like wine, cheese and olive oil, following a green light from the World Trade Organisation in a case involving illegal EU subsidies for Airbus.

The tariffs, which took effect on October 18, are ten percent for EU aircraft and 25 percent for everything else.

Spanish wine (fresh grapes, not sparkling), in less than two-litre bottles with less than 14 percent alcohol content, are target for a 25 percent duty.

In 2018, Spain exported 90 million litres of wine to the United States worth 325 million euros, according to the OEMV.

"Brexit will be for all European wines, affecting the French, Italians, Germans, which are our great competitors worldwide, both in quantity and quality," explains Adolfo Gatell, general manager of the Peñin Spanish wines guide.

"On the other hand, the United States tariffs are only for the wines of those countries that participated in the Airbus project because it is a reprisal for the EU economic help.

"So, this will not affect other (competitor) countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria. Other countries that are not within the (Airbus project)."

But there is still reason to celebrate.

Faced with this economic scenario, Spanish wineries are looking for solutions in other markets.

Thanks to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), many wineries are knocking on doors in Canada and Japan.

Asia - particularly China, Hong Kong and South Korea - are also hot tickets for Spanish producers.

With a middle-class increasingly thirsty for reds, whites and bubbly, Spanish wine producers are pinning hopes on the China market.

Torres Sangre de Toro is one of the biggest foreign wines in China.

According to OEMV figures, in 2018, Spain exported 81 million litres of wine to China, worth 156 million euros.

Madrid, Spain - 28 October 2019

1. Close of man sniffing and swirling glass of wine and drinking it

2. Mid of two women laughing while clinking glasses and drinking wine

3. Close of women swirling glasses of white wine

4. Mid of a man uncorking bottle of wine

5. Close of man pouring red wine into glass

6. Mid of two Asian men sniffing, swirling and tasting wine

7. Close of woman sniffing and tasting wine

8. Wide of wine fair floor

9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Beatriz Garcia, Commercial Director of AvanteSelecta wine group:

"It is as if everyone had stopped, while saying: 'Well, what's coming now?' So, there is a general halt, even though those measures have not yet been applied. There is a feeling of confusion and total uncertainty."

10. Tilt up of man uncorking bottle of wine

11. Wide of man pouring Rioja wine for visitors

12. Mid of visitors tasting Rioja wine

13. Close of man swirling glass of red wine

14. Close of glass of red wine being contrasted against white tablecloth

15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alberto Saldon, Spokesperson for Zamora Company winery:

"The EU exit of the British market is going to be a blow to the Spanish agri-food industry, specifically for the wine sector in which we are, because exports will be charged with fees and tariffs. For a winery like ours, almost Rioja centenary, (the UK) it is a key and strategic market. We have to think what we are going to do to save this circumstance that we cannot control. Undoubtedly, it will affect our income statement."

16. Close of bottle of sparkling white wine known as Cava being uncorked

17. Close sparkling white wine known as Cava being poured

18. Mid of two men tasting Cava in front of bottles

19. Tilt up from glass of sparkling white wine known as Cava to woman smiling and clinking glass

20. Various of Toni De la Rosa Torello, Director of Torello winery, pouring and tasting sparkling wine

21. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Toni De la Rosa Torello, Director of Torello winery:

"Market turbulence, trade wars, they are never good. The Spanish agri-food sector is very powerful and every time there is a little earthquake, from the commercial point of view, we are worried, logically. In the last years, we have invested many efforts in export, (we have done) a great economic effort. And when something like this happens, something that your winery, the quality of your wine, you cannot control, then you get nervous."

22. Close of white wine being swirled in wine glass

23. Close of man tasting and drinking white wine

24. Wide of wine tasting room

25. Close of man sniffing two different wines

26. Mid of visitors tasting rose wine

27. Close of man swirling glass of rose wine, sniffing it and tasting it

Madrid, Spain - 23 October 2019

28. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) José Luis Benitez, General Manager, Spanish Wine Federation (FEV):

"Actually, these uncertainties are a question of what will happen from the practical point of view. More than the fall in sales, (these uncertainties are about) what will happen with the shipment, what wineries are going to need. We have always said that in a mature market (like the UK), which is a very good connoisseur of Spanish wine, the fall in sales could come from other causes: for example, by an economic recession that could be produced by Brexit. For example, by a depreciation of the pound that could make our wines more expensive."

FILE: Mezalocha, Spain - 7 May 2018

29. Various aerial shots of vineyards of Pago Ayles Winery

30. Wide of workers cleaning vineyard in preparation for grape growing season

Madrid, Spain - 28 October 2019

31. Close of red wine being poured into glasses

32. Mid of wine tasting room

33. Close of 2020 Peñin guidebook

34. Wide of wine fair floor

35. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Adolfo Gatell, General Manager, Peñin guide:

"The situation between what could happen with the United States and Brexit is much different. Brexit will be for all European wines, affecting the French, Italians, Germans, which are our great competitors worldwide, both in quantity and quality. On the other hand, the United States tariffs are only for the wines of those countries that participated in the Airbus project because it is a reprisal for the EU economic help. So, this will not affect other (competitor) countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Greece, Austria. Other countries that are not within the (Airbus project)."

36. Mid of Asian men tasting wine

37. Close of Asian men tasting wine

38. Wide of two Asian women tasting wine

39. Close of Asian man taking picture of red wine

40. Zoom out from close of glasses clinking to wide of men drinking wine

Ford's Dagenham diesel engine plant is a marvel of mechanisation - a steel and chrome hangar full of LED lighting, robots and computer-controlled machine tools.

The US carmaker has invested 2.5 (b) billion US dollars in the plant, where 3,150 people churn out an engine every 30 seconds.

And they've been here a long time: Edsel Ford, son of founder Henry Ford, personally cut the sod to start construction of the company's UK manufacturing headquarters in 1929.

It's hard to imagine Ford would walk away from all that if Britain fails to negotiate a favourable trade deal when it leaves the European Union.

But don't bet on it.

With auto parts passing through as many as 15 countries before a car is completed, a Brexit agreement that results in new tariffs that increase the cost of Ford vehicles for consumers is no small problem.

"It will force us to consider what the longer-term options are for the investments that we make, because let me be clear: We have to transact business in an environment where we can be competitive, and it's that competitive base that we're interested in making sure is protected," said Steven Armstrong, CEO of Ford in Europe.

Britain's car industry, which employs 814,000 people, illustrates the struggle the country faces as it prepares to exit the European Union.

Cars are assembled, not forged in a single place.

Modern manufacturing techniques result in carmakers having plants in several locations, often in different countries, that specialise in producing pieces of the finished vehicle.

For instance, the plant in Dagenham, in east London, makes nothing but diesel engines.

Tariffs, which are virtually non-existent for goods that move from one EU nation to another, are an oversized threat to British carmakers because they could be applied each time those components cross and re-cross international borders on their way to the new car showroom.

British carmakers, and many other industries, want the government to negotiate an agreement that preserves free trade with the EU's single market after Brexit.

Failure to do so could mean that tariffs and quotas are applied according to World Trade Organisation rules, which would make each vehicle more expensive.

The industry relies on Europe as both a market and a supplier, with the EU accounting for 56 percent of UK car exports and 69 percent of imports in 2016, according to the SMMT.

Besides that, Europe supplies the majority of components within UK-built vehicles.

Ford wants to know how the government plans to address this issue - and soon. "It's important that we continue to have access to the European market, free trade and a seamless border really is what we're looking for as we go through the Brexit process," Armstrong told The Associated Press.

Prime Minister Theresa May has repeatedly said that remaining in the single market is not an option, but the government this month outlined its hopes for an agreement that would permit the "freest and most frictionless possible trade" with EU member states.

This could include a temporary customs union with the bloc for up to three years after Britain leaves in 2019 to give businesses time to adjust to the new rules. Negotiations are set to begin again next week.

A transition period may be crucial for carmakers because they will have to adjust to new borders at a time of dramatic change for the industry.

"A significant proportion of the UK supply chain actually sits within the European marketplace," said Darren Jukes, head of the industrial products group at consulting firm PwC.

The change isn't lost on the workers at the Ford's Dagenham works, which has seen cuts and change over decades and where female workers went on strike in 1968 to demand equal pay in a fight immortalised in the movie "Made in Dagenham.''

Plus all they have to do is look around - robots do much of the work.

In places where a human being is required, a computer is often nearby to correct mistakes.

The uncertainty of Brexit worries people like the plant's employees, for whom the debate could be more about location than politics.

Dagenham, east London - 21 July 2017

1. Pan of completed Ford vehicles that have recently arrived in the United Kingdom from overseas

2. Stationary Ford vehicles, car transporter moving in background

3. Pull focus on Ford logo

4. Exterior of Ford Motor Company engine plant

5. Close of signage with Ford logo

6. Top view of engine plant, pan right

7. Machinery inside plant, electronic screen

8. Close of screen

9. Samy Alakarsamy, who has worked for Ford for 35 years, operating machinery on engine assembly line

10. Ford employee marking engine component

Ford Dunton Technical Centre, Dunton Wayletts, Essex – 21 July 2017

11. Exterior of Ford Dunton Technical Centre

12. Statue of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company

13. Steven Armstrong, Group Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ford Motor Company (screen right) speaking

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Armstrong, Group Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ford Motor Company:

"We've said that the whole situation around Brexit is probably the biggest headwind that we face within the Ford business in Europe, and we're looking forward to getting to some clarity around what's going to happen, stressing the importance of a need for a transitional arrangement as we move toward the separation in, you know, not too many months' time now. So, for us it's important that we continue to have access to the European market, free trade and a seamless border really is what we're looking for as we go through the Brexit process."

Dagenham, east London - 21 July 2017

15. Ford employee operating machinery on engine assembly line

16. A cylinder block, which forms the main structure of the diesel engine, on production line

17. Ford employees standing next to cylinder block inside plant

18. Cylinder block moving through the production process

19. Tilt up on cylinder block

20. Robot moving cylinder blocks

Central London – 24 August, 2017

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Darren Jukes, head of the industrial products group at consulting firm PwC:

"It's interesting because at the moment what you have is that for UK suppliers, the current economic environment that they are facing is actually quite attractive. You know, they have suddenly become far more competitive, far cheaper relative to some of their European kind of counterparts. But a significant proportion of the UK supply chain actually sits within the European marketplace."

Dagenham, east London - 21 July, 2017

22. Various of Ford employees operating machinery on engine assembly line

23. Various of employees working on engines

24. Complete engines ready to be shipped overseas to be inserted into vehicles

Ford Dunton Technical Centre, Dunton Wayletts, Essex – 21 July, 2017

25. SOUNDBITE (English) Steven Armstrong, Group Vice President and President of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Ford Motor Company:

"It will force us to consider what the longer-term options are for the investments that we make because let me be clear we have to transact business in an environment where we can be competitive and it's that competitive base that we're interested in making sure is protected."

Dagenham Dock, east London – 21 July, 2017

26. Various of ship docked at port

27. Cars in container ship hold

28. Low angle shot of cars being driven off ship

29. Workers standing next to ramp

30. Cars being driven off ship

31. Cars seen being driven off ship in mirror reflection

32. Car travelling along road after leaving ship

33. Wide of ship docked, pan to cars travelling along road

President Emmanuel Macron pledged Saturday to protect European farming standards and culinary traditions threatened by aggressive foreign trade practices that see food as a "product like any other."

Macron's speech at his country's premier agriculture fair was aimed at assuaging French farmers' anger at government policies seen as favouring urban elites and neglecting the heartland cherished for producing famed cheeses and wines.

Europe's "civilisation of eating well, of gastronomy, of the art of living" is now threatened by world powers that pursue aggressive trade policies and "consider food a product like any other," without taking into account environmental, health or culinary concerns, Macron said.

He spoke amid European Union talks on its next agricultural aid plan, a major source of funding for French farmers.

He appealed for unity at those talks and argued against calls to re-nationalise French farming policy.

Macron is trying to tackle the concerns head-on by spending all day Saturday at the Salon d'Agriculture in Paris, where farmers showcase their livestock, food and wines.

He is meeting with dairy farmers, pork producers, vintners and others.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 23 February 2019

1. French President Emmanuel Macron at farm fair surrounded by media

AP via AGENCY POOL (REUTERS)

Paris - 23 February 2019

2. SOUNDBITE (French) Emmanuel Macron, French President:

"European agriculture remains today the world's first power. European agriculture guarantees safe and healthy food to all the people, European agriculture proudly promotes a civilisation of eating well, of gastronomy, of the art of living."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 23 February 2019

3. French President Emmanuel Macron at farm fair surrounded by media

AP via AGENCY POOL (REUTERS)

Paris - 23 February 2019

4. SOUNDBITE (French) Emmanuel Macron, French President:

"European agriculture is now threatened from the outside, by world powers that do not hesitate in pursuing aggressive strategies to impose their norms and standards, by the international order because it considers that food, a product like any other, ended up losing its soul. European agriculture is also threatened from the inside, by those using the pretext that the CAP (Common Agricultural Police adopted by the EU) would be imperfect or is not their priority and would want to re-nationalise it."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 23 February 2019

5. French President Emmanuel Macron at farm fair surrounded by media

AP via AGENCY POOL (REUTERS)

Paris - 23 February 2019

6. SOUNDBITE (French) Emmanuel Macron, French President:

(on French fishermen being threatened by Brexit)

"In this context, we will defend our fishermen and their interests. We will defend all our sectors with strength against the changes we have to suffer. But, more broadly, we will defend all our farmers thanks to a protective Europe."

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 23 February 2019

7. French President Emmanuel Macron at farm fair

AP via AGENCY POOL (REUTERS)

Paris - 23 February 2019

8. SOUNDBITE (French) Emmanuel Macron, French President:

"In agriculture, just like in many other areas, we must invent a new global deal. Yes, we must be on the defensive, carrying out a deep reform of trade policies. I said so a few months ago while speaking at the OCDE (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development): those thirty year-old policies have become outdated."

9. Wide Macron at press conference

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Paris - 23 February 2019

10. French President Emmanuel Macron at farm fair