EU able to defend European PGIs in opposition to the US-Argentina settlement | EUROtoday

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«The EU Commission will make sure that the precise provisions regarding PGIs are successfully utilized and won’t hesitate to take authorized motion. It can also be evaluating all of the implications of the latest US-Argentina settlement for the EU’s business pursuits, in constructive cooperation with the Argentine authorities.”

Thus the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, regarding the “authorized compatibility” between the commitments undertaken by Argentina as part of the agreement with the USA and the obligations to protect geographical indications provided for by the EU-Mercosur agreement.

Responding to the question of MEP Stefano Bonaccini, Hansen added that «the timely application of the EU-Mercosur agreement represents the best and only insurance policy against the abuse of European PGIs in Argentina and in Mercosur in general: if the EU believes that Argentina is not respecting these obligations, it will be able to resort to the dispute resolution mechanism».

The case broke out last February when, a few days after the closure of Mercosur, US President Trump and his Argentine counterpart Milei signed a commercial agreement which – conveying Buenos Aires’ commitment to addressing the critical issues highlighted in the US “2025 Special 301 Report”, relating to the protection of intellectual property – establishes the protection of a series of fake Made in Italy PGIs produced in the US.

Specifically, these are 39 denominations of cheese and eleven meat products defined as “widespread”, together with main European GIs similar to Parmigiano Reggiano (Parmesan), Grana Padano, Asiago, Fontina, Gorgonzola, Brie, Feta. This is even though the EU-Mercosur settlement, of which Argentina is a signatory, incorporates a selected chapter for the safety of 347 EU geographical indications.