CCFN jumped at the opportunity to provide crucial education on common food names to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) attachés and other Washington, DC staff during the week of July 11th. The United States posts agricultural attachés in over 100 diplomatic facilities around the world – men and women who serve as the front lines for engaging foreign governments on issues impacting U.S. agricultural trade – including how common food names are used and protected around the world.

CCFN’s Shawna Morris outlined the broad and serious implications of the EU’s GI overreach on U.S. farmers, food and beverage processors, foodservice operators and retailers. She outlined a three-step process by which FAS could help preserve fair export opportunities for all including monitoring GIs in each market and sharing those findings with Washington, engaging with relevant government officials to defend market access and maintaining persistence in addressing the issue with foreign governments.

A second session coordinated by the U.S. Dairy Export Council included a trivia contest and cheese tasting, where CCFN staff highlighted several cheeses utilizing common food names that are currently at risk due to the EU’s monopolization efforts, giving attendees a taste of what consumers around the world might lose if the EU were to succeed.

CCFN continues to pursue the registration of multiple trademark logos in several key markets around the world. These trademarks will be used to proactively establish the rights of common name users to retain generic cheese names and are to be used by members and other interested companies once approved in a market. Through the third quarter of 2022 several trademarks were approved for use in markets around the world. Thirteen trademarks have been approved across five markets. Those collaborating with CCFN on the use of these marks, should reach out to CCFN staff for more information.

The protection of GIs in internet domain names is an emerging issue where CCFN is working to preserve the rights of common name users. Currently, the EU is attempting to expand their monopolization campaign to online domains. CCFN seized upon the opportunity to describe this issue and the problems it creates for food producers around the world in an article with the World Trademark Review, a widely read global publication on trademark and related issues. Another area of CCFN concern is the EU proposal to expand protections to GIs used in ingredients of a dish. While this is a complex issue, the crux of the concern turns on the territoriality and the scope of protection offered – issues that are far from resolved. CCFN also used the article to raise broader concerns with the EU’s GI campaign in bilateral trade agreements.

Latin America faces a growing set of common food name challenges, driven by the EU’s monopolization campaign executed through local trade agreements. To address this, CCFN’s Executive Director traveled to Argentina and Uruguay in July and convened a meeting with key Mexican allies in August to foster greater collaboration in support of a level playing field. During these meetings, CCFN staff urged local allies to push back against the geographical indications advocated by the Europeans that harm CCFN member’s export opportunities.

The European Commission published a proposal to revise geographical indications (GIs) legislation that provides producer groups with the opportunity to voluntarily include sustainability criteria going beyond the requirements for GI product specifications under EU law. The text also states that the Commission may adopt secondary legislation to define sustainability standards in different sectors.

While CCFN welcomes initiatives to improve sustainability, we believe that policy instruments of a horizontal nature are best suited to pursue that objective. In addition, the introduction of sustainability criteria for GIs will likely lead to new common name restrictions imposed on producers outside the EU. CCFN submitted comments in August providing the common name users’ perspective and calling for the right to use common names to be respected in the development of the final version of the law.

The notification can be accessed here.