On Monday, the Swiss Senate tacitly rejected a motion aimed at better defending PDO and PGI (protected geographical indication) products like Gruyère cheese. It did, however, say it was prepared to raise awareness of these labels.
The House of Representatives had approved the motion last year, after Gruyère cheese’s PDO was definitively abandoned by American retailers. The United States has been able to produce its own Gruyère cheese since winning a legal battle with Swiss producers.
More
More
US court rules gruyère cheese isn’t just Swiss
This content was published on
A US court of appeals confirmed that the term gruyère is a common label for cheese and can’t be reserved for a type from a specific region.
The text of the motion called on the Swiss government to require the application of, and respect for, the recognition of Swiss PDOs and PGIs in all trade agreements. Such a measure would restrict Switzerland’s room for manoeuvre in terms of foreign trade, and could even prevent the conclusion of new agreements, declared Economy Minister Guy Parmelin.
However, the Senate has proposed an alternative to the motion, with very few constraints. It encourages the government to make a greater commitment to respecting the recognition of products of Swiss origin. Awareness-raising could, for example, be carried out as part of trade agreement negotiations. This adapted motion was tacitly approved by the Senate and now goes to the House of Representatives for approval.
Translated from French by DeepL/ac
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Culture
Wealth is not all: how gentrification in Zurich has led to housing shortage
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
This content was published on
The Locarno Film Festival is considering moving from the beginning of August to the second half of July for its 80th edition in 2027.
Council of Europe head Alain Berset visits Georgia
This content was published on
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, is visiting Georgia, which has been rocked by a political crisis, from Wednesday.
Swiss politician who shot at Jesus faces criminal proceedings
This content was published on
The Zurich public prosecutor's office has opened criminal proceedings against politician Sanija Ameti. It is investigating whether she disrupted freedom of religion and worship.
Switzerland must be able to control immigration, says head of business federation
This content was published on
Switzerland must be able to control immigration itself if it "exceeds the tolerable limits", says Christoph Mäder, president of Economiesuisse, the Swiss Business Federation.
This content was published on
The film Reinas by Klaudia Reynicke, a Swiss-Peruvian-Spanish co-production, has missed out on an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film.
Raiffeisen Switzerland CEO steps down unexpectedly
This content was published on
Raiffeisen Switzerland CEO Heinz Huber is stepping down at the end of the year. This means that Switzerland's second-largest banking group after UBS is looking for a new CEO.
Artificial intelligence has yet to affect election results
This content was published on
Artificial intelligence has not yet had a decisive influence on election results, according to Swiss researchers who analysed this year's elections in almost 100 countries.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.