Swiss abandon defence of Gruyère cheese trademark abroad
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Swiss abandon defence of Gruyère cheese trademark abroad
The protected designation of origin (PDO) of Gruyère cheese will no longer be defended worldwide.
On Monday, the Swiss Senate tacitly rejected a motion aimed at better defending PDO and PGI (protected geographical indication) products like Gruyère cheese. It did, however, say it was prepared to raise awareness of these labels.
The House of Representatives had approved the motion last year, after Gruyère cheese’s PDO was definitively abandoned by American retailers. The United States has been able to produce its own Gruyère cheese since winning a legal battle with Swiss producers.
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Restrictive text adapted
The text of the motion called on the Swiss government to require the application of, and respect for, the recognition of Swiss PDOs and PGIs in all trade agreements. Such a measure would restrict Switzerland’s room for manoeuvre in terms of foreign trade, and could even prevent the conclusion of new agreements, declared Economy Minister Guy Parmelin.
However, the Senate has proposed an alternative to the motion, with very few constraints. It encourages the government to make a greater commitment to respecting the recognition of products of Swiss origin. Awareness-raising could, for example, be carried out as part of trade agreement negotiations. This adapted motion was tacitly approved by the Senate and now goes to the House of Representatives for approval.
Translated from French by DeepL/ac
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