Rewe, a limited liability company with an office in Germany

Rewe, a limited liability company with an office in Germany, imported goods from the EU countries. In 1976, Rewe applied to a German agency for permission to import Cassis de Dijon. The agency responded that spirits needed to contain 32 percent alcohol to be marketed in Germany. (The only exception to this rule was beer.) Cassis had only 15–20 percent spirit content so it could not be imported. The German court referred the case to the ECJ to deal with conflicts between German law and Article 30 and 37 of the Treaty of Rome (see Commission v. Federal Republic of Germany, C-178/84, and March 12, 1987). The German government argued that it was trying to protect public health and consumers. How did the court rule? Why? Did this settle the issue for the future? See Rewe–Zentral [Cassis de Dijon], C-120/78, February 20, 1979.