Geographical indications for agricultural products
With the advancement of economic globalization and trade liberalization, competition in the international agricultural market has become increasingly fierce, and all countries are trying to fully explore and make use of their comparative advantages in order to consolidate and enhance the competitiveness of their agricultural products in the international market. In this context, geographical indications of agricultural products, as an important means to protect agricultural intellectual property rights and promote agricultural trade, have attracted widespread attention around the world.
Concept and connotation of geographical indications
Article 22.1 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (MTRIPS Agreement) stipulates that a geographical indication is one in which a product indicates that a good originates in a member's territory, or from a region or place within that territory, and that the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are primarily associated with the geographical origin.
According to the Measures for the Administration of Geographical Indications of Agricultural Products issued by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People's Republic of China on December 25, 2007, the geographical indication of agricultural products is a unique agricultural product indication that indicates that the agricultural product comes from a specific region, and the product quality and related characteristics mainly depend on the natural ecological environment and historical and cultural factors, and is named after the regional name.
As far as the current situation is concerned, the provisions on the concept of geographical indications at home and abroad are not completely consistent, but the connotation is basically the same.
Geographical indications can be described in three sentences: they are not only an indication of origin, but also an indication of quality, and more importantly, intellectual property. Geographical indication is a characteristic product with regional characteristics, unique variety characteristics, and historical traditions, and is a form of intellectual property in a specific field that is different from trademarks.
In China, geographical indications are still unfamiliar to many people as intellectual property rights, but geographical indication products are the most accessible products to the public. In layman's terms, a geographical indication is a mark that uses the name of the geographical origin of the commodity to indicate the characteristics and reputation of the goods. Internationally, geographical indications are widely used in many fields, such as agricultural products and food, traditional industrial products and handicrafts.
The main reason for the legal protection of geographical indications is that the characteristics and reputation of the product are irreplaceably related to the natural ecological environment and human and historical factors of the place of origin, so it has a unique market value.
The concept and connotation of origin
Origin refers to the origin of the product. There are two main types of origins related to international trade: one is the origin and its rule-making under the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Rules of Origin, and the other is the protection of the right to name products in the region of origin under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The country of origin referred to in the rules of origin of the World Trade Organization refers to the country of origin of the product, which mainly indicates the specific country from which the product comes from, and has nothing to do with the geographical conditions, quality and characteristics of the product, and is also known as the "economic nationality" of the product. In 1958, the GATT made uniform provisions on the expression of origin, i.e., manufacturing or production, "made in". For example, "made in China" made in China, "made in USA", "made in UK", etc., have been used to this day.
The protection of the right to the name of the product of origin, also known as the protection of geographical indications, is the unique protection of the geographical environment, variety, production process and unique quality, characteristics and reputation of a certain product, which belongs to the scope of intellectual property protection. Emphasize the unique quality and characteristics of the product under specific geographical conditions and through special processing technology. The place of origin referred to here can be either a country or a region of a country. For example: Yangcheng Lake hairy crab, West Lake Longjing, French champagne.
Geographical indication protection often means that the product has a good quality and reputation, which can create a sense of dependence on consumers. Swiss watches, for example, can be labeled "Swiss made", a symbol of high quality all over the world, provided that they comply with the legal regulations for the protection of their designations of origin.
△Inspect local vineyards in Lavaux, Switzerland
The impact of the World Trade Organization's rules of origin on trade and agricultural production
1. The role of rules of origin and origin
A country can use the country of origin, which is the economic nationality of the goods, to implement tariff calculations, most-favored-nation treatment, trade statistics, anti-dumping, countervailing, GSP and preferential trade arrangements in a targeted manner. For example, the country of origin is used to determine whether a product comes from a WTO member, so as to determine whether to grant MFN treatment; through the country of origin to determine whether a product comes from a member of a free trade agreement signed by the country, so as to decide whether to implement preferential tariffs; and through the country of origin to determine whether a certain batch of goods is subject to trade measures such as anti-dumping and retaliatory tariffs against a specific country.
The rules of origin are the criteria for determining the origin of goods, as well as the procedural provisions for implementing and managing these rules. That is, products manufactured in the same country using raw materials produced in the same country, with that country as the country of origin. The second is to substantially change the standards. It refers to a product that has been processed and manufactured in several countries, and the country where the substantive processing is finally completed is the country of origin (in practice, each country will stipulate a specific product classification change, processing process or value-added percentage standard to determine the substantive processing).
2. Impact on trade
One is to influence trade through trade statistics. Different standards of origin produce different trade statistics, which have an impact on reflecting the actual situation of bilateral trade.
The second is to affect trade through import quotas. By determining the country of origin, the importing country can implement quota management in a targeted manner, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling the quantity of imports and protecting the domestic industry.
The third is to affect trade through trade remedies. By tending to formulate the origin standard, the importing country may cause a surge in the export volume statistics of a certain exporting country, triggering trade remedy measures such as anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling imports and protecting domestic industries.
Fourth, trade is affected through government procurement and other policies. In many countries, where the use of domestic goods is encouraged in the implementation of government procurement policies, rules of origin to determine the "nationality" of goods will play an important role in accessing market opportunities.
Fifth, it is necessary to influence trade by protecting national brands. By enacting strict rules of origin, the country's reputation for high-quality products with special characteristics can be strengthened internationally.
Sixth, trade is affected through preferential trade arrangements. In preferential trade arrangements such as free trade zones, the two sides need to distinguish between goods from third countries through rules of origin to determine the scope of implementation of preferential tariffs. The FTA itself is a commitment to further open up the market, and without strict rules of origin, it is possible that third parties may "free ride" to enjoy preferential benefits, which in turn will cause "worse" the impact on the more sensitive and vulnerable industries in China. Therefore, in practice, the formulation of preferential rules of origin usually has to refer to the content and requirements of the WTO rules of origin, but they are often more stringent than their requirements.
3. Impact on agricultural production
On the positive side, the rules of origin of agricultural products formulated according to the characteristics of domestic agricultural development can effectively coordinate foreign trade policies and domestic industrial policies, and reflect the sensitive differences of different products. For example, the establishment of strict rules of origin for important agricultural products such as grain, cotton, oil, and sugar can effectively monitor actual imports from different countries, while preventing third-party re-exports from impacting the domestic industry. In this way, we can strive to reach relatively relaxed rules of origin that are conducive to China's export of advantageous products, which is of great significance to the development of domestic advantageous industries and the promotion of farmers' income. On the downside, many countries have enacted detailed and strict rules of origin and used them as a covert means of restricting market access to implement industrial protection.
Therefore, China should accumulate experience, solve the problems of unspecific judgment standards, weak operability, and simple technical specifications, and prevent the emergence of a situation in which it is restricted by foreign markets on the one hand, and protected its domestic industry on the other.
The impact of GI protection on agricultural trade and agricultural development
Strengthening the protection of geographical indications will play a promoting role in enhancing the reputation and competitiveness of agricultural products in the international market, expanding the influence of national brands, and promoting the coordinated development of regional economy, society and environment.
1. Impact on trade in agricultural products
The first is to enhance the core competitiveness of agricultural products. Agricultural products with geographical indications can transform the geographical and cultural resource advantages of the region into the differentiation of agricultural products, thereby enhancing the core competitiveness of agricultural products in the market.
The second is to increase the market visibility of agricultural products. Agricultural products marked with geographical indications represent the origin and traditional culture, mark quality and safety, and can obtain higher returns than similar non-GI products, laying a good foundation for expanding domestic and foreign markets.
The third is to promote the large-scale operation of agricultural products. Geographical indications of agricultural products have the effect of collective branding, which can promote the industrialization and large-scale operation of high-quality agricultural products in a specific region, improve the degree of standardization, and realize the quality of agricultural products in line with international standards.
2. Impact on agricultural development
First, it is necessary to increase agricultural efficiency. In most cases, the economic benefits brought by GI-related products are reflected in the expansion of agricultural production scale, the continuous rise in the price of agricultural products, the continuous growth of employees' income, and the increase in local fiscal revenue. Chinese Zhangqiu green onions, Wenchang chicken, Korla fragrant pears, Wuchang rice and French wine, cheese, bread are all good examples.
The second is to improve the quality of agricultural products. The quality of agricultural products using geographical indications can be guaranteed because they must meet certain requirements in terms of relevant product quality standards and quality control technical specifications, coupled with the government's effective supervision of agricultural products protected by geographical indications.
The third is to promote the development of ecological agriculture. The special qualities and reputation of agricultural products with geographical indications are closely related to the natural conditions of the region. Therefore, in order to maintain the quality characteristics of GI products, it is necessary to strictly manage and protect the local agricultural production environment and natural conditions. In this way, not only can a good ecological environment be obtained, but also the development of local tourism resources can be promoted, and the harmonious development of nature and society can be realized.
Fourth, it is necessary to protect the traditional agricultural culture. Through the protection of geographical indications, the traditional craftsmanship and culture of the production and processing of unique agricultural products can be protected and developed, and the influence of their brands can be expanded. For example, the frying, fermentation and semi-fermentation processes in the process of tea processing, the historical evolution and cultural taste of the Ancient Tea Horse Road, the traditional production technology, social function and literary and historical evaluation of various liquors have all become important contents of geographical indication products, product quality in the place of origin and intellectual property protection.
Source: China Rural Network
Editor: Huo Ran
Supervisor: Guo Wenping, Xu Feng
Submission email: [email protected]