TTIP talks stumble over ‘feta’ dispute
European Union plans to seal the world's largest free trade deal with the United States are threatened by intractable differences over food names, none more so than the right of cheese makers to use the term "feta".
Negotiators talk of accelerated progress and hope to thrash out a skeleton agreement on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) within a year, aiming for a major boost to growth in the advanced Western economies.
But geographical indications (GIs), a 1,200-long list ranging from champagne to Parma ham, present a major headache.
At the same time as eurozone leaders are ordering Greece to balance its budget and liberalise its product markets, EU trade negotiators are fighting to defend its signature cheese.
GIs are a cornerstone of EU agricultural and trade policy, designed to ensure that only products from a given region can carry a name. To the United States, it smacks of protectionism.
"It's politically extremely important in Europe. As (the EU) phases out direct agricultural support, there has to be a trade-off by promising to do more in trade policy," said Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy.
"For 20 years they have been fighting about it at the World Trade Organisation even if the economic value is disputed."
