WTO Says Formed No Position Yet On Dispute Over Russia's New Law On Alcoholic Beverages

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2021) The World Trade Organization (WTO) has not yet formed a position on the dispute over the new Russian norms on alcoholic beverages, it is also not aware of any actions by the European Union to bring the relevant issue to the WTO platform, the organization's spokesperson told Sputnik.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the European Commission's press service told Sputnik that the commission was assessing whether the new Russian rules on alcoholic beverages violated the country's obligations to the WTO and was ready to take action. Also on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Paris was analyzing a new Russian law regulating the labeling of champagne, and in the near future intends to discuss the situation with Russia and at the EU level in order to protect the interests of French producers.

"We have no position (on the dispute over the new norms of Russian legislation - ed.). We are also not aware of any actions by the EU to raise this issue through the WTO dispute settlement mechanism," a WTO spokesman told RIA Novosti.

In turn, a Geneva-based trade official clarified to Sputnik that the agreement on trade aspects of intellectual property rights defines the WTO rules on the protection of geographical indications and provides additional protection for such indications for wines and spirits.

"Each WTO member must provide the legal means for interested parties to prevent use of a geographical indication identifying wines for wines not originating in the place indicated by the geographical indication in question or identifying spirits for spirits not originating in the place indicated by the geographical indication in question," the source said.

At the same time, he stressed that the issue of the protection of geographical indications was controversial in the WTO.

"The EU and a group of other 'Old World' members have been pushing for years to expand protection of their GIs in other countries through new WTO rules, whereas 'New World' members like the US, Canada, Australia and Argentina have opposed new protections in this area," he said.