The European Union is facing growing opposition at the World Trade Organisation to its stance on geographical indications. The EU is refusing to grant protection to traditional regional names of drinks and food products from non-EU countries, unless their governments roughly copy Europe’s own rules.
The USA has already launched a disputes proceeding at the WTO on this point and is now being joined in formal talks with the EU by Mexico, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India and Australia.
Meanwhile, the Australian government has launched its own separate dispute proceedings with the EU over its geographical indication rules, claiming that they do not adequately protect imported goods and that they are not administered equally for exports from all WTO members.
