US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA2834

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 002834 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLS PASS TO ALEAP COLLECTIVE 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/IPE SWILSON; AF/S KGAITHER 
USDOC FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND 
COMMERCE ALSO FOR HVINEYARD 
TREASURY FOR BRESNICK AND CUSHMAN 
DEPT PASS USPTO FOR MADLIN 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN, WJACKSON, AND VESPINEL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, SF, USTR 
SUBJECT: EU GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS ALREADY AFFECT SOUTH 
AFRICA 
 
REF:  STATE 131291 
 
1.  Summary.  There are a number of examples of South 
African food products currently on the shelves in major 
retail stores in Pretoria that would be affected by the 
European Commission's WTO proposal(s) on Geographical 
Indications (GIs).  South Africa already recognizes EU GIs 
for wine and spirits through bilateral agreements balanced 
heavily in favor of the EU.  Developing countries ought to 
take a look at these agreements and consider the equities 
and the costs of what such a system would mean for them. 
End summary. 
 
2.  The European Commission's WTO proposal(s) on 
Geographical Indications (GIs) would require changes in the 
labels that South African food companies have used to market 
their domestically produced products.  The following are 
examples of South African products currently on the shelves 
in major retail stores in Pretoria.  Many of these products 
compete with the imported product on the same shelf.  For 
example, while many of the products feature the flag and map 
of Italy with the logo "regional taste of Italy", only a 
close examination of the label indicates whether the product 
is actually imported from Italy or a product of South 
Africa. 
 
Cheese: 
 
Brie 
Camembert 
Feta 
Gouda 
Gruyere 
Halloumi 
Mascarpone 
Mozzarella 
Pecorino 
Provolone 
Parmaggio 
Ricotta 
 
Olives: 
 
Calamata Olives 
Kalamati Olives 
Manzinilla Olives 
Vesuvio Olive oil 
 
Miscellaneous food products: 
 
Provencale tomato and basil rub 
Bulgarian fat free yoghurt 
Portuguese peri peri rub 
Chicken viennas 
Smoked viennas 
Smoked and skinless frankfurters 
 
Non-EU GIs: 
 
Cape Malay curry powder 
Thai red curry paste 
Thai stir fry oil 
Mozambican style peri peri 
Indonesian sweet soya sauce 
 
3.  The above names are extensively used by such South 
African brands as Simonsberg, Clover, Dairy Bell, Pick 'n 
Pay Choice, Woolworth Foods, Cremona & sons, Tee-Tee 
dairies, Parmalat, and Tuna Marine.  Major South African 
retailers are actively marketing many of these brands 
elsewhere in sub-Sahara Africa. 
 
Wine and Spirits - already compromised with EU 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
4. For countries interested in understanding what the EU 
would like to achieve with regard to GIs for wine and 
spirits globally, South Africa is a good place to start. 
South Africa has already compromised itself on these 
products by binding itself three years ago to the EU's 
scheme in supplemental agreements to a bilateral trade and 
cooperation agreement.  The text of the wine agreement alone 
is 102 pages long.  It contains a list arranged by EU member 
state with the names of regions and cities, and the names of 
hundreds of communes or parts of communes.  The list for 
Germany is 19 pages long while France's takes up 13 pages. 
The most astute consular officers would be challenged to 
locate most of these communes in their own consular 
districts.  It covers the wine products listed in reftel 
(e.g., Champagne, Beaujolais, Bordeaux, Chablis, Chianti, 
Moselle, Saint-Emilion).  The agreement prohibits any use of 
protected indications even when: 
 
     The true origin of the wine is indicated; 
 
     The geographic indication is used in translation; 
 
     The indications are accompanied by expressions such as 
     "kind," "type," "style," "imitation," "method" or the 
     like. 
 
5.  The agreement's enforcement provisions require in cases 
where there is a breach of the protected names that the 
Contracting Parties shall apply the necessary administrative 
measures and/or initiate legal proceedings as appropriate in 
order to combat unfair competition or to prevent in any way 
unfair use of the protected names. 
 
6.  A separate 13-page agreement on "spirits" specifically 
protects the EU names of Grappa, Ouzo, Korn, Kornbrandd, 
Jagatee, and Pacharan (i.e., those GIs listed in reftel) as 
well as other EU GIs in a list that is five pages long and 
covers 16 categories ((e.g., rum, whisky, vodka, fruit 
spirit).  The South Africa list, on the other hand, has only 
five names altogether in a single category, brandy. 
 
7.  A common complaint of developing countries and LDCs is 
that they do not have the capacity to implement the WTO 
Agreements they have already acceded to under the Uruguay 
Round.   If they want to experience a real nightmare of 
capacity constraints, they ought to consider the EU list of 
GIs in the agreement with South Africa.  In terms of equity, 
they should also consider this gem in the prefaces of the 
bilateral accords: "Desirous of creating favorable 
conditions for the harmonious development of trade and the 
promotion of commercial cooperation in the wine sector on 
the basis of equality, mutual benefit and reciprocity." 
More specifically, developing countries and LDCs ought to 
ask themselves the following questions in considering the EU 
proposals at the WTO: 
 
-- In terms of equality, mutual benefit and reciprocity, how 
many GIs are they likely to want to list from their own 
country versus the number the EU wants for its GIs? 
 
-- In terms of enforcement, can they really afford to 
undertake new obligations to spend scarce legal resources to 
enforce EU GIs? 
 
-- Isn't there a more affordable and less cumbersome way for 
countries to protect their valued GIs without resorting to 
the EU proposal? 
 
8.  The texts of the protocols between South Africa and the 
EU are in the Official Journal of the European Communities L 
28/104 30.1.2002 and on the following website: 
www.tralac.org/pdf/L284_nhsp_Agreement_nbsp_W ine.pdf. 
MINIMIZE CONSIDERED 
HARTLEY