ARLINGTON, VA – The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) expressed their support today for the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) prioritization of the protection of common names in this year’s Special 301 Report.
The annual report details the largest intellectual property challenges around the world, including the European Union’s exploitation of geographical indication rules to confiscate common names – such as “parmesan” or “feta” – and prevent non-EU producers from using those terms to market or sell their products in certain markets.
“The European Union’s abuse of geographical indications is purely an anti-competitive campaign to block producers and exporters in the United States and elsewhere from accessing key markets,” said CCFN Executive Director Jaime Castaneda. “We are thankful that USTR continues to recognize these efforts as a threat that needs to be addressed. Now, it’s time for the U.S. government to utilize its full suite of tools to secure the market access rights of common name producers.”
CCFN submitted comments to the agency in January, emphasizing the need for the U.S. government to become invested in this issue, and expounding on how producers on-the-ground are negatively impacted when the European Union confiscates common names. Castaneda then testified before USTR staff at a February hearing on the Special 301 process.
