ABFI welcomes UK’s GI commitment
In a letter to the Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland British MP and Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food George Eustice made a commitment to protect these three GIs and to preserve ‘Product of Ireland’ status for them if they’re to be produced in Northern Ireland after Brexit.
Post-Brexit, these three GI spirits are set be the only ones to span both EU and non-EU territory.
Irish whiskey, Irish cream liqueur and poitín are protected at an EU level in a similar manner to Champagne in France or Parma ham in Italy which means they must be produced on the island of Ireland in accordance with certain production practices and standards.
Last month ABFI wrote to UK Ministers on the need for a future UK legal framework for GIs, protection for GIs in future UK trade agreements and country of origin rules so that these products will not be required to carry ‘Produce of UK’ labels.
In his response George Eustice MP commits the UK to “incorporate relevant EU legislation into domestic law and enable us to make operability changes, providing us with the legal means to make sure that all UK GIs including the three trans-border spirits drink (sic), are fully protected in the UK. This legal framework will ensure Irish whiskey, Irish cream and Irish poitín will continue to be recognised and enforced in Northern Ireland after we leave the EU.”
Minister Eustice also confirmed that “converting EU legislation into domestic law will not place any new restrictions on the use of ‘Product of Ireland’ for trans-border spirits drinks GIs.”
Responding to the letter, ABFI Director Patricia Callan said, “It’s estimated that in 2018 nearly a quarter of a billion (250,000,000) bottles of Irish GI spirits will be sold globally, representing over a billion €uro in exports from the island of Ireland.
ABFI has been consistent in warning of regulatory divergence if the GIs were to be applied and enforced differently north and south post-Brexit.
However, ABFI is also calling for further commitments to be made to protect all-island GI spirits in future UK trade agreements.
“We do not want the EU and UK making trade agreements with third countries, where one agreement protects our all-island GI spirits and the other doesn’t,” explained Patricia Callan, “That could lead to legal uncertainty in those third countries regarding the status of these GIs. It could also potentially make protection against counterfeit products in those markets even more difficult.”
“We would like a firm commitment from the UK Government that any future trade agreements it negotiates with third countries will include a concrete legal requirement recognising and protecting the three all-island GI spirits, similar to those requirements included as standard practice in EU free trade agreements.
“Minister Eustice did not provide any firm commitment on this point in his letter this week. ABFI will continue to campaign to ensure that our GI spirits will be protected globally.”
