THE Philippines must look beyond the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences+ (EU-GSP+) and explore additional protection and promotion tools for its exports, specifically through the use of Geographical Indications (GIs).
Geographical Indications are a form of intellectual property recognition accorded a particular place for its distinctive products or processes, such as Champagne in France for its Champagne wines or Scotland for its Scotch Whiskey, that other producers are prohibited from using on their own labels or promotions.
The Philippines acquired a 10-year EU GSP+ membership last December that significantly reduces tariffs for some 6,000 lines for EU imports from the country.
However, the Philippines cannot be complacent, since its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have started building up their GI certifications to gain an advantage in an increasingly competitive global market.
This is the message of EU economists and analysts at a recent conference on “EU-GSP+ & Geographical Indications: Leveraging on GIs to Access the EU Market” held in Makati City.
Guy Ledoux, ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, said GIs are bestowed on a group, community, locality, region, or country for the quality or craftsmanship of a certain product and protect the commodity from being imitated or claimed by others as their own.
He said a likely candidate for GI recognition is the mango from Guimaras in Western Visayas. With GI protection, mango producers elsewhere cannot use “Guimaras Mangoes” on their label.
Laurent Lourdais, director-general for agriculture of the ASEAN Desk Office of the European Commission, said going the GI route is a way for the Philippines to export more high-end products of greater market value. At present exports are largely limited to low-value basic commodities, and parts and components.
Lourdais added that the Philippines should begin to “prepare for tomorrow” now by coming up with relevant legislation on GI, which will be particularly useful in possible negotiations with the EU on a free trade agreement.
Walter Van Hattum, head of the economic and trade section of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, said the Philippines could consider acquiring the GI seal not just for mangoes but also for Kalinga coffee and the T’nalak woven fabrics, both products associated only with the Philippines. Other than protecting the brand, registering will also raise the value of a product, since it will be recognized as authentic and unique.
Moreover, Stephane Passeri, project coordinator for the Food and Agriculture Organization who is tasked to develop GI usage in Asia, said the Philippines should consider drafting the legal framework for GI registration a priority, since many countries in the ASEAN have put such a law in place.
Passeri said Thailand currently has 64 GI registrations, including for the Lamphun Brocade Thai silk, and 61 pending applications with the EU. Indonesia has 26, Malaysia 35, and Vietnam 41. Cambodia has likewise registered its well-known Kampot pepper.
GI associations are also emerging within the region, with Indonesia creating on February 26 this year the Indonesian Geographical Indication Association. For Thailand, it has struck a “twinning” deal with the Champagne region, a partnership that will co-promote Champagne wine and the Lamphun Brocade Thai silk together in events, exhibitions, and tourism campaigns.
Passeri said, “GI is a concept in rapid expansion in Asia,” and the Philippines must act before it’s too late. (Philexport)
Published in the Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro newspaper on March 17, 2015.
