EU has accepted plea on Basmati: REAP

Published March 9, 2021
The European Commission has accepted the ‘Reasoned Statement’ submitted by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) against India on Geographical Indication (GI) of Basmati. — Reuters/File
The European Commission has accepted the ‘Reasoned Statement’ submitted by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) against India on Geographical Indication (GI) of Basmati. — Reuters/File

LAHORE: The European Commission has accepted the ‘Reasoned Statement’ submitted by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) against India on Geographical Indication (GI) of Basmati.

The exporters’ body announced on Monday that the statement opposing India’s claim to Basmati rice GI was accepted last Friday (March 5).

The REAP had filed the Reasoned Statement in opposition to India’s claim of GI of Basmati on Feb 5, after sending the Notice of Opposition on Dec 7, 2020.

After reviewing both of these documents, the European Commission has declared the Notice of Opposition and the Reasoned Statement of REAP admissible in the case, it said, adding the acceptance has made REAP a party to the case.

The rice exporters say now they can directly advocate for the protection of Pakistan’s GI rights over Basmati.

With the admissibility of REAP as a party, the case of Pakistan in the EU has reached its third stage where all the contesting parties will engage in consultations with each other. The time period for the parties to engage in negotiations is three months.

In this case, the negotiations will last, tentatively, till May 6, 2021. This is a pre-trial phase, whereby parties are encouraged to reach an amicable solution.

After the consultations are completed and in case no settlement is reached, the fourth stage of trial will commence in the tribunal of DG Agriculture, European Commission.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2021

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Climate funding gap
17 Feb, 2025

Climate funding gap

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent appeal for climate finance at the World Governments Summit in the UAE...
UN monitoring report
17 Feb, 2025

UN monitoring report

THE latest report of the UN Security Council’s sanctions monitoring team paints a grim picture of the banned...
Tax policy reform
17 Feb, 2025

Tax policy reform

THE cabinet’s decision to create a Tax Policy Office at the finance ministry has raised hopes that tax policy is...
Maintaining balance
Updated 16 Feb, 2025

Maintaining balance

It must take a more proactive approach to establishing Pakistan’s bona fides.
Welcome return
16 Feb, 2025

Welcome return

IT is almost here; the moment Pakistan has long been waiting for — the first International Cricket Council...
Childhood trauma
16 Feb, 2025

Childhood trauma

BEING a child in this society should not be so hard. But recurrent reports of child abuse — from burying girl...