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Even if domestic producers are subject to the same requirements? It's not as if a wine-producer from Ireland, or even Normandy, could make a sparkling wine and call it champagne.
Sure, it blocks intra-EU competition, but the EU is effectively acting as a cabal here - Franch gets champagne, Greece gets feta, Italy gets prosecco and so on. They agree to not interfere with each other in exchange dor working together to impose the restrictions on the rest of the world.
I find it difficult to see how this is different to literally any regulation though. It's not as if any product is prevented from entering the EU under these rules, it's just a question of how it's marketed. It's as much consumer protection as producer protection - when someone sees 'champagne' they expect it be from Champagne (and not just because of expectations created by the regulations). After all the EU does enforce non-EU names - Celyon tea, Sussex wine, Mongolian Cashmere etc. etc.
This implies that the answer would be for everyone else to prohibit any product (imported or otherwise) to display a restriction geographic name.
After all, it's just a question of how it's marketed. Prohibiting French wine-makers from labeling it Champagne isn't a trade barrier?
After a while, those names will just be gone -- who in the US would know what Parmesan is if you can't actually name anything in the store it.
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The question is what do those names actually mean to consumers. At least here in Australia, names like 'feta' are fully genericised - they don't have to come from a particular region in Greece. This is true for a lot of names, though the EU has taken great pains to reverse this.
When a consumer goes to buy feta, what exactly are they looking for? If two products are virtually identicial, taste the same, same texture, but one happens to be made in Australia and one in Greece, do most consumers actually care? Do they just want a lower price (I'm sure some foodies will claim there are subtle but irreducible differences).
At what point does a name become genericised to the point of referring to a type of product, rather that than referring to the geographical origin of a product? Danish pastries certainly aren't just made in Denmark.
It is a legitimate criticism to say that a consumer might be looking for feta and not care if it's from either Australia or Greece, but EU geographical indicators hide Australia 'feta' from consumers as a potential option, and this constitutes protectionism.
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But France can, and only France can, and thus it remains a form of European protectionism even if it privileges part of the EU over others.
'Everyone is under the same restriction that they can only use [brand recognition name] if you produce from my market' is simultaneously a 'same' requirement and not-same impact. Which is why 'same' requirements for all is a common form of contract corruption- you write requirements into a contract that you know only certain favored applicants will be able to reasonably meet, and thus you have the 'same requirements for everyone' and can dismiss accusations of systemic bias.
Not France, only Champagne can.
I dunno, think what you want about the regulation, I heard a few cases of it backfiring against those it was supposedly meant to protect, but I don't see it as fundamentally different from expecting other countries to respect trademark regulations. Or is it protectionism that China can't flood the US market with "Apple" products that were produced by companies who weren't authorized by Apple to do so?
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Ok but the arrangement applies to non-EU foods too. Looking at the UK protected name list (which is largely carried over from the EU regs, which I can't find in such an easily accessible form), there are 771 protected names for American products and regions (almost exactly the same as the number of French protected names by the way) - why would anyone do this if it were pure protection? It's more a question of false advertising. If you call your whisky a bourbon or your sparkling wine a champagne it comes with obvious expectations. After all there is no barrier to the importation of the product, it's just a question of what you sell it as when it's here. Nobody is preventing anyone from selling American sparkling wine.
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