guardian.co.uk;Dacian Cioloş and Kathleen A Merrigan;the European Union and the United States announce a historic partnership to make it easier to trade in organic foods, opening up opportunities for organic farmers and ranchers, small businesses, and jobs in packaging, shipping, and marketing on both sides of the Atlantic.
The new arrangement, which comes into force 1 June, allows products certified as organic in the EU to be sold in the US and vice versa, eliminating significant barriers for producers. At present, a separate, additional certification is required, meaning additional costs and bureaucracy for organic farmers. To help reduce paperwork and expenses, the arrangement is simple in its aim: it recognizes that the EU and the US have credible organic certification systems and that we share common perspectives about what constitutes the production of organic products.
The partnership also establishes a strong foundation from which we will promote organic agriculture and benefits to the organic industry on a global scale. By removing barriers to organic farmers and companies, we are giving our producers expanded access to the world’s two largest markets for organic products—valued at nearly £ 40bn combined—whose 800 million consumers increasingly seek out high-quality organic foods.
We also know that economic activity around the production, distribution, and sale of organic products packs a punch. For example, in the US, nearly half of organic growers and food companies surveyed expected to add jobs in 20111. These expectations will only flourish as US organic producers seek to demonstrate their high-quality, safe and affordable products to EU consumers. Organic production in the EU has enjoyed over 6% annual growth for the last decade, and this agreement will encourage more EU exporters to market their products across the US as the American appetite for healthy and organic food grows.
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