EU Tastes Defeat on Regional Food

The United States and Australia prevailed in an interim ruling by the World Trade Organization in a dispute over protection given by the European Union to European regional goods such as Champagne wine and Feta cheese, trade officials said Thursday.

The ruling is not binding, but it indicates that the final report -- due in about a year -- might well go against the EU, the officials said.

Brussels last year published a list of 41 wines, cheeses and other regional products that it wants to protect under WTO rules. Then the WTO -- the body that sets the rules on international trade -- heard the complaint that the EU wasn’t giving enough protection to products originating in the United States and Australia.

The two countries claim the EU is breaching WTO rules by not protecting imported goods that have so-called geographical indications -- high-quality products known by the region or city where they are produced.

They say the EU gives better protection to its member states than to other countries on the issue, breaching WTO rules that say all trading partners must be treated equally.

The EU list also includes products such as Beaujolais, Chianti, Madeira and other wines; Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Roquefort and other cheeses as well as Parma ham and Mortadella sausages. In some non-EU countries these names are claimed to be generic or have been registered as trademarks by local producers.

According to the EU, this is “a short list of 41 products whose names are being abused and parroted” by non-EU producers. The trading block also has plans to seek protection at a later stage for 600 more “regional quality products.”

The EU is not alone. India is keen to protect its Darjeeling tea, Sri Lanka its Ceylon tea, Guatemala its Antigua coffee and Switzerland its Etivaz cheese.

“This is not about protectionism. It is about fairness,” outgoing EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has said. “It is simply not acceptable that the EU cannot sell its genuine Italian Parma Ham in Canada because the trademark ‘Parma Ham’ is reserved for a ham produced in Canada.”

He said geographical indicators are a quality guarantee and avoid confusion among consumers.