A North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tribunal has reportedly awarded $58 million in damages to Corn Products International’s Mexican affiliate after finding that Mexico imposed discriminatory taxes on beverages sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The tribunal determined in January 2008 that Mexico had breached its NAFTA obligations to favor its domestic sugar industry by requiring a 20 percent tax on HFCS-sweetened beverages. According to a news source, the tax was also imposed in retaliation for U.S. curbs on surplus Mexican sugar imports in the 1990s, an anti-dumping practice declared illegal by the World Trade Organization. See FoodNavigator-USA.com, August 29, 2009.
Category Archives Global Courts
Responding to questions referred to it by an Italian court, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has determined that (i) the term “Bavaria,” when used in conjunction with beer, is not a generic term, but rather is a protected geographical indication (PGI) recognized in valid proceedings by the European Commission in 2001; and (ii) beer makers outside the German region, using this designation for their products, may do so if they can prove their trademarks were registered in good faith before 2001 and will not likely confuse consumers as to product identity, “having regard to that mark’s reputation, renown and the length of time for which it has been used.” Bavaria NV v. Bayerischer Brauerbund eV, No. C-343/07 (decided July 2, 2009). German brewers have apparently been challenging Dutch brewer Bavaria NV in courts throughout the continent, including in Italy where the case has been returned for the Dutch brewer to prove that…
The British Court of Appeal has determined that “Regular Pringles,” a snack food made by Procter and Gamble, are subject to the value-added tax under a provision that applies to “potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch.” Revenue & Customs v. Procter & Gamble UK, [2009] EWCA Civ 407 (Eng. & Wales Ct. App. (Civ. Div.), decided May 20, 2009). Foods are generally not taxed in Britain, but an exception has been carved out for “food not normally bought primarily for nutrition but eaten as snacks.” The question before the court was whether the Pringles chips, with just 42 percent potato flour content, are “similar to potato crisps and made from the potato.” The company apparently argued that products subject to the tax should be made from 100 percent potato or near 100 percent, to give the…
Concerned that the United States does not plan to make any changes to its country-of-origin labeling (COOL) rules for meats, fresh produce and nuts, Canada has apparently decided to move forward with a complaint it originally filed in December 2008 with the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to Canada’s trade minister, “Recent instructions from the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture encouraging the U.S. industry to use very strict labeling practices have removed flexibility previously envisioned in the legislation and this affects the ability of our cattle and hog exporters to compete fairly in the U.S. market.” U.S. imports of Canadian cattle reportedly dropped 32 percent in the first two months of 2009 compared with the same period in 2008, and hog imports have fallen 40 percent. The reductions are apparently blamed, in part, on COOL requirements that U.S. plants segregate and separately label imported products. Canadian producers also claim that the…
Courts in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec have approved a nationwide settlement of claims filed by those allegedly affected by consuming Listeria-tainted meat products produced by Maple Leaf Foods. The 2008 outbreak reportedly sickened 57 people in seven Canadian provinces, and the Listeria strain was purportedly ruled to be the “underlying or contributing cause” in the death of 22 of them. Anyone who consumed the products, estimated at 5,200, may submit a claim for compensation. With symptoms lasting no longer than 48 hours and with no medical proof, claimants can recover $750. With physical symptoms lasting longer than 48 hours and with medical proof, claimants are eligible to recover $3,000 to $125,000. Psychological trauma, with medical proof, will be compensated at $2,000 to $17,500. Those who wish to recover under the compensation scheme must submit their claims no later than November 2, 2009. Those who plan to pursue other legal claims against…
According to a news source, Monsanto has filed a lawsuit challenging the German government’s decision to prohibit farmers from planting the company’s genetically modified (GM) corn. Designed to produce a substance toxic to the corn borer pest, the GM seed has been permitted in Germany since 2005, and the corn has been used in Europe for animal feed since 1998. Earlier in April 2009, Germany’s agriculture minister, saying she had “legitimate reasons” to believe the corn is an environmental hazard, put a halt to plans to use the GM seed on nearly 9,000 acres in eastern states this year. Monsanto contends that the ban is arbitrary and could only be imposed as to approved plants if new scientific evidence comes to light. Other European countries have banned the GM seed, although the European Food Safety Authority concluded that studies surfacing in 2008 did “not present new scientific evidence that would…
A Chinese court in Shijiazhuang has reportedly agreed to accept a lawsuit filed by the parents of a child allegedly affected by the 2007 melamine contamination of milk and infant formula. Until this week, no court had accepted the litigation, a first step in securing compensation outside the administrative procedures established by the government. According to a news source, as many as 600 families refused to accept the compensation offers from the 22 dairy companies that agreed to provide payments ranging from US$290 to US$29,000. The families apparently believed the amounts were not enough to cover emotional suffering and other losses. The Beijing lawyer who filed the case that has been accepted reportedly indicated that it involves an 11-month-old girl who became sick from infant formula manufactured by the now-bankrupt Sanlu Group. The family is seeking about US$4,500, the smallest of the six lawsuits the lawyer has filed against milk…
German courts in Bavaria have reportedly been considering issues raised in a lawsuit filed by an amateur beekeeper who was forced to destroy his honey after it was found to be contaminated with pollen from a nearby field trial of genetically modified (GM) corn. Beekeeper and handyman Karl Heinz Bablok, aware that his hives were near GM cornfields, apparently had samples of honey tested and found that 7 percent of the pollen was from the GM crops. An Augsburg court ordered him to stop selling or giving away his honey, so he sued the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture to recover his costs and lost sales of about US$12,900. Now before a third court, the case reportedly raises significant GM-related issues: if Bablok wins, the GM corn would be discredited; if the court decides that Bablok’s honey is not subject to licensing regulations under the European Union food law,…
According to a news source, the executive vice president of China’s highest court has indicated that the courts will begin accepting the paperwork filed by parents who decided not to participate in the government’s compensation plan for injuries allegedly suffered by children who consumed melamine-tainted milk products. Court official Shen Deyong reportedly said in an online interview, “The courts have done the preparation work and will accept the compensation cases at any time.” He also reportedly indicated that more than 95 percent of the 300,000 victims’ families had accepted compensation. An organizer for those who held out said that hundreds are prepared to file individual claims, many of which the courts previously refused. Under China’s legal system, the courts must first accept the paperwork and then decide whether to act on the claims by opening an investigation or rejecting them. See Associated Press, March 3, 2009.
An Italian magistrate has reportedly determined that Nestlé Italia and Tetra Pak International are liable for the “psychological prejudice” of parents who gave their daughters milk purportedly contaminated with chemicals from the carton. The milk was apparently withdrawn from sale in France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy in late 2005, over concerns about the leaching of IsopropilThioXantone, a chemical used in printing on the cartons, into the dairy product. Millions of liters of liquid baby milk were reportedly recalled, and a consumers’ organization indicates that the latest ruling is the first in Italy since the product was withdrawn from the market. See Agence France Presse, March 2, 2009.
