G/TBT/W/640  
 
1 July 2019 
(19-4383) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION - REGULATION OF THE EU ROPEAN PARLIAMENT AN D OF THE 
COUNCIL ON THE DEFIN ITION, DESCRIPTION, PRESENTATION, LABELL ING OF SPIRIT 
DRINKS, THE USE OF T HE NAMES OF SPIRIT D RINKS IN THE PRESENT ATION AND 
LABELLING OF OTHER F OODSTUFFS, THE PROTE CTION OF GEOGRAPHICA L  
INDICATIONS OF SPIRI T DRINKS, THE USE OF  ETHYL ALCOHOL AND  
DISTILLATES OF AGRIC ULTURAL ORIGIN IN AL COHOLIC BEVERAGES,  
WHICH REPEALS REGULA TION (EC) NO. 110/20 08 
STATEMENT BY GUYANA TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
20 AND 21 JUNE 2019  
The f ollowing communication, dated 28 June 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Guyana . 
_______________  
1.  Guyana takes note of a notification by the European Union, under document 
G/TBT/N/EU/432/Rev.1 , of a new regulation on the definition, description, presentation, labelling of 
spirit drinks, the use  of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation and labelling of other foodstuffs, 
the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and distillates of 
agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing its Reg ulation (EC) No 110/2008.  
2.  In this new regulation, the EU has strengthened restrictions on the use of the word "Agricultural " 
in all languages, to rums produced from sugarcane juice in the overseas departments of France 
(Martinique, Guadeloupe etc.) and Mad eira. 
3.  This restriction was already in place in the repealed regulation, and indeed this wording has 
existed in the EU rum definition since the first EU Spirits Regulation of 1989. However, the new text 
appears to strengthen the provision substantially. The  wording in the repealed regulation is as 
follows:  
"This spirit may be placed on the market  with the word "agricultural" qualifying the sales 
denomination "rum" accompanied by any of the geographical indications of the French 
Overseas Departments and the Autonomous Region of Madeira as registered in 
Annex  III." 
4.  The new regulation states that:  
"The term "agricultural" may only be used  in the case of a geographical indication of a 
French Overseas Department or the Autonomous Region of Madeira".  
5.  The specific  effect of this new wording, taken in conjunction with stricter rules on sales 
denominations, would be to prevent the use in the EU market by Guyana and other CARIFORUM 
producers of the word "Agricultural " in the languages of the region (English, Spanish, French and 
Dutch). Guyana believes that this measure, the revised Spirits Definition, would constitute an 
unnecessary restriction to trade in rum exports from CARIFORUM States, resulting in significant 
erosion of export volumes of the product in the EU and  possibly other markets.  G/TBT/W/640  
 
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  6.  The Cariforum rum industry of the ACP Caribbean States1 is the largest non -mineral export 
industry for the region and its premier export product. It is one of the largest agri -based foreign 
exchange earners for the grouping and a substantial employer.  
7.  The EU is a traditional and important export market for Caribbean branded and bulk rum. In  2017 
the EU imported €  125 million in spirits and liqueurs from CARIFORUM, making it th e single largest 
product export to the EU.  
8.  As the region where the product distilled from sugar cane materials first came to be known as 
rum, many Caribbean countries have a lengthy and diverse history of rum production both from 
molasses and from sugar ca ne juice or syrup.  
9.  Guyana believes it would be possible for the EU to fulfill its objectives in a less trade restrictive 
manner, to avoid unnecessary restrictions to trade, whilst protecting the interests of the GI 
French/Madeira producers, by limiting the  restriction to the French language version of "Agricultural"  
only. This is the word "Agricole"  and is the word in common use by the producers concerned.  
10.  Though the ACP Caribbean industry transmitted its concerns to the EU on this issue, informally 
and in writing on several occasions between mid -2017 and February 2019, it does not seem that 
these concerns were taken into account. The first formal and substa ntive response to the ACP 
Caribbean was only received two days after its adoption by the EU Council  on 09 April 2019.  
11.  We would further point out that the TBT Agreement mandates due consideration of comments 
and a minimum of 60 days, and more in the case of  developing countries, has been recommended 
as being a reasonable time frame for Members to make comments and to take these written 
comments and the results of discussions into account. In its official notification to the WTO dated 
12 December 2018, the EU  indicates that it provided only 30 days for comment. The EU has not 
justified this regulation as an emergency measure.   
12.  Therefore, Guyana urges the European Union to reconsider its measure, along the lines of 
Cariforum written comments and concerns transm itted, with a view to ensuring that the proposed 
measure does not create unnecessary obstacles to exports from developing Cariforum country 
members. As necessary, CARIFORUM would welcome further engagement with the EU on this matter 
with a view to resolvin g the issues as soon as possible.  
__________  
                                                           
1 Antigua and Barbuda;  the Bahamas;  Barbados;  Belize;  Dominica;  the Dominican Republic;  Grenada;  
Guyana;  Jamaica;  Saint Kitt and Nevis ; Saint Lucia;  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines;  Suriname and Trinidad 
and Tobago, together known as the CARIFORUM.