Trade Skirmish between the U.S. and the Philippines

A hat tip to Alan Deardorff for informing us that the U.S. filed a WTO case against the Philippines last Thursday, as reported here in the WSJ. Excise taxes on distilled spirits imported into the Philippines vary by the ingredient that is fermented to produce alcohol, and the U.S. believes the taxes are set so as to discriminate against American-made spirits, which are usually made using different ingredients than the same spirits made in the Philippines.