Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect products that benefit from protected geographical or traditional status under EU legislation.

The Government recognises the economic and cultural importance of UK geographical indications (GIs). We are working with the Devolved Administrations and stakeholders to develop new UK GI schemes for when we leave the EU.

We will use the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 to ensure that GI schemes are in place on day one of leaving the EU for wines, aromatised wines, spirit drinks, agricultural products and foodstuffs. This will provide UK protection for UK GIs when we leave the EU and ensure that the UK fulfils its obligations under World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights rules.

The protection of UK GIs in the EU and EU GIs in the UK is subject to ongoing negotiations. We anticipate that all current UK GIs will continue to be protected by the EU’s GI schemes after we leave the EU.