(BusinessTimes) - The United States on Monday criticised the European Union's restrictions on wine labelling, saying they hinder US wine exports to the 27-nation bloc.

The US Trade Representative's office said the EU's policy of seeking exclusive use of so-called traditional terms such as tawny, ruby, reserve, classic, and chateau on wine labels had an undesirable effect.

"The EU's regulation of traditional terms severely restricts the ability of non-EU wine producers to use common or descriptive and commercially valuable terms to describe their products sold in the EU," the USTR said in a report on trade barriers.

According to the report, the EU may allow third-country producers to use the traditional terms if their governments forge an agreement with the EU regulating use of the terms in their markets.