Australia on Thursday threatened to withdraw from a free trade agreement with the European Union that, in its current form, does not allow its cheese, wine and charcuterie producers to use designations of origin. controlled.
It has been five years since negotiations on a trade agreement between the EU and the island continent began. But the names of certain products, particularly cheese, continue to be so much debated that the deal is now in jeopardy.
As part of these negotiations, the European Union has therefore submitted to Australia a list of more than 400 products linked to its territories that it wishes to protect, such as feta cheese, Parma ham or Irish spirits.
In his view, the use of the term “Roquefort” should be reserved for the sheep’s cheeses that are made around the French village of the same name. And only Dutch producers should be able to claim the name “Gouda”, a cheese made in the Netherlands.
Demands that Canberra refuses to give in to, despite all the economic benefits that this agreement would offer them.
Australian Agriculture Minister Murray Watt justified his country’s stance by saying it was a “sensitive” issue for Australia.
“Not only is it a sensitive issue for European producers, it is also a sensitive issue for Australian producers,” he told national broadcaster ABC.
“After the Second World War, Australia experienced a large wave of immigration from Europe,” said Mr Watt. “Our producers brought their products from their home countries and made them here.”
The minister therefore stated that if “Australia fails to reach a good agreement, it would be better not to reach one at all”, but added that negotiations with the EU would continue.
In particular, by signing this trade agreement, Australia wants to lead to a reduction in tariffs in force at the EU borders, which affect in particular its agricultural exports.
For the EU, the deal would allow it to reduce its dependency on imports from certain countries, most notably Russia.