European Union - New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Implementation

New Zealand concluded the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union (FTA) on 30 June 2022. The agreement was signed on 9 July 2023.

As part of the negotiated outcome, New Zealand will provide geographical indication (GI) protection for a list of 1,976 EU GIs.

The FTA provides that GI protection will not prevent prior users of the terms “Gruyère” or “Parmesan” from continuing that use, provided that they were using those terms in good faith for a period of at least 5 years before the date of entry into force of the FTA.

Between April and June 2023, existing users of the terms “Gruyère” and “Parmesan” were able to provide us a statutory declaration confirming that they had used the term in good faith for that period.  Based on those declarations, we created lists of prior users (set out below) to share with the EU as noted in the FTA. A record of that process is available here.

However, because the exception only applies to prior users that have used the relevant terms for a period of at least 5 years before the date of entry into force, we will not know the start date for that period until we know the date of entry into force.  That date be jointly decided by New Zealand and the EU after both parties have completed their respective legal processes to bring the FTA into force. At this stage, the FTA is anticipated to enter into force in the second quarter of 2024, subject to relevant approvals.

The list of prior users will be reviewed when the FTA enters into force to ensure that all identified prior users on the list have used the term for at least 5 years prior to that date.

Any continued use following entry into force must also be accompanied by a legible and visible indication of the geographical origin of the good concerned.

Prior User Lists at Signature

Gruyère

Parmesan