The EU and China agreed on Friday 2 June that a list of 200 European and Chinese geographical indications – 100 from each side – that will be considered for protection through a bilateral agreement to be concluded in 2017 would be formally published.
Publication opens the process for protecting the listed products against imitations and misuses and is expected to result in “reciprocal trade benefits and increased consumers' awareness and demand for high-quality products on both sides”, the Commission says in a press release.
The list of European products to be protected in China includes products like Bayerisches Bier, Feta, Queso Manchego, Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Gorgonzola and Polska Wódka, while among the Chinese products seeking geographical indications status in the EU are to be found, for example, Yantai Ping Guo (Yantai apple), Hengxian Mo Li Hua Cha (Hengxian jasmine tea), Panjin Da Mi (Panjin rice) and Baise Mang Guo (Baise Mango).
The first stage of the process will be publication of the two lists, one European and one Chinese, of the 100 products to be protected once the agreement comes into force. Interested parties now have two months to comment on the products selected by the parties and, if necessary, raise any concerns with either the EU or Chinese authorities. The lists of products is public (https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/newsroom/2017-06-02-gis.pdf )
The Chinese market for agri-food products is one of the world’s largest, and is expanding every year, fuelled by a growing middle class that has a taste for European food and drink products, often as a result of their international travels. The country also has a rich tradition of geographical indications of its own, many of which are still largely unknown to European consumers but which should now become more widely available thanks to the agreement.
EU-China cooperation on geographical indications began over ten years ago and led to the protection of ten geographical indications on either side under EU and Chinese legislation. Building on this initial cooperation, in 2010 the EU and China started to negotiate a bilateral agreement on cooperation on, and protection of, geographical indications.
Geographical indications are considered to be one of the great successes of European agriculture, with over 3,300 EU names registered. Some further 1,250 non-EU names are also protected within the EU, mostly thanks to bilateral agreements such as this one with China. In value terms, the market for EU geographical indications is worth around €54.3 billion, and GIs account for 15% of total EU food and drinks exports. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)