The European Parliament (EP) has backed an agreement between the EU and China to protect the names of 200 European and Chinese food specialties from counterfeiting. The move aims to ensure that 100 European F&B goods bearing geographical indications (GIs) will be legally protected in China against imitations and the misuse of a product’s name.

MEPs have agreed to extend the agreement to a further 175 European and Chinese products within four years.

“The Chinese seem to have understood the value and principles of our EU GI scheme, which is at the heart of the EU quality policy,” Alexander Anton, secretary general of the European Dairy Association, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“That’s why their approach to our EU GI scheme is a very open and cooperative one. We see similar approaches in India, in African countries and in other Asian countries,” he continues.

Alice O’Donovan, legal and policy adviser at European dairy trade association Eucolait, remarks: “While no-one expects an EU-China free trade agreement (FTA) anytime soon, the fact that there is an established dialogue is somewhat encouraging.”

“An EU-China FTA would put EU dairy exporters on an equal footing with New Zealand as regards dairy access on the Chinese market.”

Preserving traditional denominations
The scope of these protections include European offerings such as feta, Münchener bier, Polska wódka and queso manchego.

In exchange, 100 Chinese products will benefit from the same form of protection in the EU. These include specialties like baoshan arabica coffee, lapsang souchong, pu’er tea and yantai apples.

“An EU-China agreement is a milestone when it comes to international recognition and promotion of our EU quality policy, which is not about protection from ‘copying’ our European dairy produce, but it is about the protection of the traditional denomination of the product,” notes Anton.

For instance, he highlights that mozzarella cheese is produced and marketed as “mozzarella” across the world, but cannot be marketed as “Mozzarella di Bufala Campana” or “Mozzarella di Gioia del Colle.”

“These denominations are reserved for the traditional mozzarella produced according to unique specifications in defined geographical areas in Europe,” he explains.

“Our iconic European cheese excellence has a well-deserved global recognition. You don’t have to be a cheese aficionado to know wher a feta or a parmesan has to come from.”

“But there are other examples, including Spanish cheese specialities wher we find low quality ‘copies’ that hijack the protected name in certain markets and hence undermine the reputation of the protected produce and the traditional savoir-faire,” he underscores.

€60 billion in losses to counterfeit and pirated goods
This deal is likely to have major ramifications as China is the second most common destination for EU agri-food exports.

In 2019, China was the third largest destination for EU exports of GI products, including wines, spirit drinks and agri-food products. In the 12-month period between September 2018 and August 2019, the value of these exports reached €12.8 billion (US$14 billion). 

In 2018 and 2019 however, 80 percent of European seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods originated in China, causing losses of €60 billion (US$70.7 billion) to EU suppliers.

“GI agreements with third countries are always a welcome development,” O’Donovan at Eucolait tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“These not only offer a level of protection to EU products on the third country market, but they also show a willingness from the third country to engage with the EU,” she continues.

Confidence building for smoother trade
This deal is pegged as one with “symbolic and confidence-building value.” 

“It promises to boost European agri-food exports to China, already worth €14.5 billion (US$17.1 billion) in 2019. It is also a good measure of China’s ambition to protect intellectual property rights more robustly,” remarks EP rapporteur Iuliu Winkler.

In a resolution adopted by 633 votes, with 13 against and 39 abstentions, the EP welcomed the agreement, calling it an “important confidence-building exercise” during the ongoing EU-China negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement.

Adjunctly to the new deal, the EP is expressing its concern about the “market-distorting practices used by Chinese state-owned enterprises, forced technology transfers and other unfair trading practices.”

With the EP’s consent, the European Council must now adopt the agreement so that it can enter into force at the beginning of 2021.