Assodistil calls upon the EU commission to protect the IG classification in the US.

Daniele Nicolini, chairman of Assodistil (the italian distillers' association) had something to say on the occasion of the consultations for the so-called TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership ). The italian distillers' association was asked to attend to give voice to the request put forward by those working in this domain: above all, the acknowledegement of the IG (Indicazioni Geografiche) labelling, being Grappa the product par excellence falling into this classification.

"This partnership represents an important commercial opportunity for both countries, however, the Us must acknowledge our Indicazioni Geografiche".

As a matter of fact, the Us does not acknowledge any IG: it is this way possible to find american producers labelling their grape pomace spirits, distilled in the Us, with the name "Grappa" .

According to the EU laws, they'd be considered as counterfeited products.

One more topic was raised by Mr. Nicolini, the need to streamline the export procedures.

"In order to export our spirits on the Us market, both a report on the products' features and their labels must be pre-approved. This leads to high costs for producers and slows down the entire export process, which may take as long as 12/18 months. Furthermore, several are the tecnical regulations which should be simplified and rationalized" so the chairman.

"This partnership agreement represents a great opportunity: once the procedures will be simplified and the commercial obstacles removed, our products will make it to an important market such as the american one".

On condition that our IG classifications will be "acknowledged and enforced for this is the only way to protect the outstanding value of our products. It is not just a mere economical matter: it's rather a cultural challenge our association will always be fighting for"