The Council of the European Union made a decision on July, authorizing the signing of the China-EU Geographical Indications (GI) Agreement.

According to the EU announcement, the agreement is the first significant bilateral trade agreement signed between the EU and China. It will ensure that 100 GIs from both the EU and China are protected in each other’s markets, thereby ensuring mutual respect for each other’s agricultural traditions. The announcement stated that four years after the agreement entered into force, the scope of the agreement will be expanded to cover an additional 175 GI marks from both sides.

The negotiations on the China-EU GI Agreement began in 2011 and lasted 8 years. On November 6, 2019, Chinese Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan and EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan jointly announced the conclusion of the negotiations on the China-EU GI Protection and Cooperation Agreement.

(Source: CNIPA website)