Christian Schmidt, the German agriculture minister, reportedly said that "if we want to take advantage of the opportunities of free trade with the huge American market, we can no longer have every type of sausage and cheese each protected as a speciality." Well, I doubt that most European farmers would agree with him.
Obviously, the issue of “geographical indication (GI)” has been one of hot potatoes in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. Many small European farmers want the current strong GI protection under the EU law to continue under TTIP. If this position prevails, the U.S. producers would be forced to drop the label “Black Forest Ham” unless it actually originates from the black forest in Germany. Likewise, the American businesses would no longer be able to use the term “Cornish parsty” unless it is from Cornwall, England. However, if the U.S. position prevails, as hinted by the German agriculture minister, the American-made black forest ham, Cornish pastries, Parmesan cheese would soon compete with authentic European counterparts in Europe as the former can carry the same labels.
In sum, while European farmers may associate any loosening of their GI law with “misrepresentation,” American farmers tend to accuse its current form of “protectionism.” It remains to be seen how Europe and the United States will bargain (compromise) over this diametrically opposite positions. Also, any transatlantic deal on this thorny issue might affect the future of the GI law under TRIPS.