WTO row over food "appellations" - Food Industry Report - Brief Article

Eurofood,  July 4, 2002  

Tags: food, industry, World Trade Organization

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So-called "New World" countries are seeking to fend off what appears to be growing chorus of support among members of the World Trade Organisation for expanding protection under WTO rules to geographical indications beyond wines and spirits.

More than 20 WTO members put forward a joint paper yesterday calling for changes to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in order to ensure that speciality products such as cheeses, beers, teas and even carpets would benefit from the TRIPS protection already granted to wines and spirits.

But countries such as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand argued that such extended protection would incur more costs than benefits for most WTO members, including the large number of developing countries that make up the overwhelming majority of the WTO's membership.

TRIPS COUNCIL NEGOTIATIONS

The EU-sponsored paper to this week's TRIPS Council was backed by countries as diverse as Iceland and Thailand.

WTO members had agreed at last November's Doha ministerial meeting to address the issue in the TRIPS Council rather than in the Doha negotiations.

The joint paper from the EU and others proposed geographical indications should be protected for all products, not just wines and spirits.

LOPSIDED BENEFITS

But US officials argued that the proposal would provide lopsided benefits for certain members, in particular the EU. While some countries would only see one or two of their products benefit under the proposed protection regime, these countries would at the same time be required to provide legal protection for thousands of goods produced abroad.

US officials said that the EU alone gives legal protection to more than 600 food products and beers not currently afforded protection by WTO intellectual property law.

PROBLEMS MULTIPLIED

Australia added that an expanded protection regime would cause all sorts of downstream problems, particularly with product labelling, that would inhibit trade.

Australia noted that it was already trying to fend off EU efforts to reserve terms such as "ruby," "chateau" and "vintage" for European wines, and that these problems would multiply if extended to other products.

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