The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
US bid over food status would threaten smokies
Scottish produce could be cheaply replicated
Fake US versions of national treasures like the Arbroath smokie will flood the market if Britain gives in to the demands of American business, say Dundee campaigners.
Trade Justice Dundee warns of a “huge economic impact” on Tayside should the UK scrap the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status, which shields Scotch whisky and other products from copies.
American lobbyists have been trying to get Britain to drop the EU protections, and to avoid replicating them, as part of a future US-UK trade deal.
Paul Robison, chairman of Trade Justice Dundee, said it would be a “calamity for Scottish produce” if the much valued protections were lost.
“The future the US proposes will have a factory process to mass produce fish which have the smell of smoke,” he said.
“The quality will not be there and the product will be devalued in the minds of all those who taste it.
“This would be true for other iconic Scottish brands like Stornoway black pudding, Orkney beef, Scotch beef and Scotch lamb. This is the destruction of ‘Scotland the brand’.”
Michael Barlie, the group’s secretary, said there would be a “huge economic impact on the area here”.
“People will be making Arbroath smokies and selling them all over America and over here,” he said.
American exporters have been lobbying the US Government to demand an end of the geographical protections in return for access to their markets.
They say cheaper versions could be sold across both sides of the pond without lowering standards.
Shawna Morris, of the US Dairy Export Council, told the i newspaper that “preposterous” rules for “monopolising” products should be reconsidered.
“We think the ability to take a fresh look at UK regulation through the Brexit process provides the UK with a great opportunity for taking a much more reasonable approach to what’s been a very controversial issue,” she said.
The Scottish Government is processing bids to the EU from Dundee cake and Forfar bridie for the PGI status, overseen by the UK Government.
The future of those applications is in major doubt because of Brexit.
But the European Commission has proposed that existing PGI products should continue to enjoy protection in EU and UK markets after Brexit.
There are 69 registered products with geographical indications in the UK, compared with 245 in France and 294 in Italy.
A spokesman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “Leaving the EU gives us a golden opportunity to secure ambitious free-trade deals while supporting farmers and producers to grow and sell more great British food.”
Donald Trump wants to have his Dundee Cake and eat it, it would seem. Actually, one of inferior quality would probably suit him just as well...
As we report today, American lobbyists are trying to force Britain to drop EU protections as part of a future US-UK trade deal.
Ongoing and at times rather fraught Brexit negotiations have left Great Britain in a somewhat vulnerable position, and it appears the Americans are ready to take advantage.
Numerous bona fide Scottish products rely on geographical protections – Arbroath smokies, Stornoway black pudding and Scotch beef among them.
Meanwhile, efforts to bring similar safeguards for Dundee Cake and Forfar bridies are well advanced.
There are 69 registered products with geographical indications in the UK and while providing them with future protection is unlikely to be top of Theresa May’s list of priorities, it is nevertheless a significant issue.
The news has been met with deep concern. Paul Robinson, chairman of Trade Justice Dundee, has warned victory for the cross-Atlantic lobbyists would represent a “calamity” for Scottish producers.
While the UK Government trots out the line that departure from the EU represents a “golden opportunity” to secure new trade deals, it would be foolish indeed to ignore the small print.