G/TBT/W/669  
 
23 July 2019  
(19-4880) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION - DRAFT  IMPLEMENTING REGULA TIONS AMENDING REGUL ATION 
(EC) NO. 607/2009 LA YING DOWN DETAILED R ULES FOR THE APPLICA TION OF 
COUNCIL REGULATION ( EC) NO 479/2008 AS R EGARDS PROTECTED  
DESIGNATIONS OF ORIG IN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS,  
TRADITIONA L TERMS, LABELLING A ND PRESENTATION OF  
CERTAIN WINE SECTOR PRODUCTS  
STATEMENT BY THE UNITED STATES TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
20 AND 21 JUNE 2019  
The following communication, dated 22 July 2019, is being circulated at the request of t he delegation 
of the United States . 
 
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1.  The United States is very disappointed that we again must raise our concerns with the EU's 
policies on geographical indications and traditional terms for wine; and specifically, our pending 
application s for traditional terms.  
2.  We have been raising concerns about these policies and the associated regulations for almost 
20 years now.  
3.  The EU's persistent failure to provide any information leaves us no choice but to raise these 
concerns once again.  
4.  At seve ral recent TBT Committee meetings, the EU said that the pending applications for 
traditional terms were still under consideration, but that it could not provide a precise timeline for 
approval. Why is the EU unable to provide any estimate or tell us where in the process our 
applications are?  
5.  We were previously told that the cause for the delay was that the EU was working on revisions 
to the relevant regulations. As mentioned on numerous other occasions, it is curious to us that while 
the EU has had the opp ortunity during the review and revision of the notified measures to include 
timelines and greater transparency with respect to traditional terms, it has chosen not to do so even 
though it has seen fit to provide some timelines and transparency for geograph ical indications. Why 
the difference?  
6.  We have repeatedly asked the EU to confirm that it does not plan to retroactively apply the new 
regulations to applications that were lodged nearly nine years ago, but to date have not received 
confirmation from the EU . Can the EU please confirm today what rules apply to our applications?  
7.  It would be helpful if the EU could provide some transparency about the status of other 
applications so that we can see how our applications compare. Can the EU please tell us:  
• how ma ny applications for traditional terms have been lodged over the last nine years ?  
• how many of those applications have been approved, rejected, or remain pending ?  
• what is the average time between application and a final decision ?  G/TBT/W/669  
 
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  • for pending applications,  how long have they been waiting ? and  
• how many of the applications have come from Member States?  
8.  We do not understand why the EU seems unable or unwilling to provide transparency regarding 
the applications that have been lodged or to provide greater predi ctability through timelines for 
traditional terms.  
9.  We are also concerned about the EU's efforts to restrict the ability of our producers to use 
common descriptive tools for labeling and marketing their products, such as restricting the use of 
the term "ba rrel aged" and certain bottle shapes to wines with geographical indications.  
10.  Now that Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 and Commission Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2019/34 have been published in the EU Official Journal, and entered into force o n 
14 January  2019, the United States once again requests the EU to move expeditiously to approve 
our applications so that we can remove this longstanding item from this Committee's agenda.  
11.  Lastly, can the EU confirm whether, and if so how, the processing of these applications will 
change following the recent Parliamentary elections, including whether responsibility for processing 
applications will be transitioned to a new agency within the E uropean Commission?  
 
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