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IDENTIFICATION LEGAL CLUSTERS GEOGRAPHIC CLUSTERS TRADE CLUSTERS ENVIRONMENT CLUSTERS OTHER FACTORS
I. Identification
1. The Issue
A passionate debate over the meaning of chocolate has emerged ever since the creation of the European Market and the free movement of goods among EU nations in 1992. Despite their concern for standardization of goods throughout the 15 EU nations, EU policy makers have yet applied that rule to chocolate. Their effort to solve this issue has been significant, but the problem is complex: 7 of the 15 EU nations permit the use of substitutes in the making of chocolate. The other 8 claim that only chocolate made
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out of cocoa butter should be called pure chocolate. The legal framework that relates to Cocoa and Chocolate products is based on a directive that was first introduced by the EEC in 1973. Since then, the European Commission has reviewed this directive more then once and finally presented a proposal for its reform in April 1996. The main aspect of the proposal is that it allows member countries to replace cocoa butter by vegetable fats in chocolate products. The division between the EU nations is mainly caused by the desire to protect their respective industry interests. However, the proposed directive implies severe economic, social and environmental consequences for developing countries.
2. Description
Brief chocolate history
Chocolate has been enjoyed around the entire world for centuries. In fact, it is perhaps the most popular and widespread treat of modern day. Its first form appeared in Central America thousands of years ago, where the Aztec and Maya civilizations produced a chocolate beverage by roasting cocoa beans. These beans were found in pods that grew on cocoa trees in the tropical forests of Central America. Cocoa beans were first brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus in the 16th Century but chocolate only became popular in the 17th Century. Its consumption spread quickly throughout Europe. At first, this most delightful product was seen as a luxury and was only enjoyed by the upper class. However, at the end of the 19th Century, chocolate became more popular and accessible to the broader population. In addition to Central America, cocoa trees are now cultivated in Africa and Asia. Cocoa trade has considerably increased over the years and many developing countries economies rely partly on the export of cocoa beans. European chocolate manufacturers mainly import cocoa beans from West African countries such as the Ivory Coast, Ghana Nigeria and Cameroon. They then proceed to the transformation of cocoa beans into chocolate. In Europe, the leading chocolate producers are Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. For many years each country has had its own set of rules concerning the making of chocolate. Yet, the building of the European Union required a certain harmonization over chocolate production and chocolate products.
Directive 73/241/EEC
In the EU cocoa and chocolate products are regulated by Directive 73/241/EEC. The directive was introduced in 1973 and concerns the composition, manufacturing packaging and labeling of products to ensure the free movement of goods in the EEC. Under this Directive the use of vegetable oils in chocolate making other than cocoa butter was prohibited. However, an exception was made for a few European countries (Denmark, Ireland and the UK) which were using vegetable fats in their chocolate products. Also, the directive had no significant impact on national laws. Later on, the same countries were granted another exemption by allowing these countries to call their chocolate products "milk chocolate" despite the use of 20% of milk in their products compared to 14% in other European countries. In 1983, the European Commission recognized the need to harmonize the free movement of chocolate products among European members. They were in favor of allowing member countries to decide of the use of
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substitutes in chocolate production. The proposal was rejected by the European Parliament and was declared unfair to cocoa producers.However, in 1992 the birth of a single European market made it essential to review the directive since from that moment, all chocolate products were allowed to circulate freely within the member countries. In 1996, directive 73/241/EEC was revised once again allowing the addition of up to 5% of vegetable oils other than cocoa butter in the production of chocolate providing the addition is clearly mentioned on their labelling. The revision of the directive provoked various reactions among EU countries, chocolate producers, cocoa exporting countries, and other groups of interest defending developing countries, or consumer rights. It also seems to raise environmental issues: the increase of shea nut and palm oil tree production, which constitute the primary substitute used by chocolate producers to replace cocoa butter, may have a negative impact on the environment. These issues are discussed below.
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The effect of the directive on the environment should also be of concern. Cocoa substitutes include shea nut oil and palm oil. An increase in the production of these oils would be damaging to the environment. Shea nut production depends on intensive use of water and wood, which are scarce resources in Africa. Intensive production of these oils would also increase the use of pesticides and fertilizers on plantations. Asia, in particular, is known for its intensive production practices, which involve massive use of fertilizers. Both cocoa and alternative oils are produced intensively in Asian countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia in order to compete with leading exporters. But the effect is damaging for the ecosystem.
3. Related Cases
West African Cocoa
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Cassis Trade Dispute The EU-US banana Dispute EU-US Basmati Rice Dispute
Trade Canola and Genetics Trade German Beer Purity Law Liquor Dispute between Chile and Peru Ethiopia Coffee Exports
8. Legal Standing:Treaty
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b. Geographic Site: Western Europe c. Geographic Impact: the legal measure has a direct impact on EU member countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Finland, ireland, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. Yet, it also affects cocoa producing countries, particularly the leading producers and EU west african trade partners such as Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
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b. Indirectly Related to Product: YES COCOA c. Not Related to Product: NO d. Related to Process: YES
* includes unfilled chocolate, filled tablets and bars, bonbons, pralines, sugar confectionery containing cocoa, white chocolate, spreads containing cocoa, sweetened cocoa powder and other foods containing cocoa.
Reference: Statistical Review 1996. Caobisco, November 1997 Source: International Cocoa organization, July 1998
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Austria Belgium Germany Denmark Spain Finland France Greece Italy Ireland Netherlands Portugal Sweden Switzerland Norway Total
9.52 10.06 10.12 8.28 3.94 3.60 6.69 2.84 3.29 8.76 4.54 1.93 5.21 10.18 8.57 6.81
CAOBISCO data on per capita chocolate consumption Source: International Cocoa organization, May 1998 17. Impact of Trade Restriction:HIGH
Country
Production forecast for 1997/98: (in thousand tonnes) 370.0 310.0 160.0 155.0 125.0 100.0
Reference:
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Quarterly Bulletin of Cocoa Statistics, 24 (1), 1997/98 Source: International Cocoa organization, April 1998
V. Environment Clusters
20. Environmental Problem Type:Rights 21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species: N/A 22. Resource Impact and Effect: Low and Regulatory 23. Urgency and Lifetime:Low and 3-5 years 24. Substitutes: Like products
DISCUSSION PAPERS
A clone is being proposed: it would be false chocolate, European Fair Trade Movement (EFTM) January 1997. The WTO and the Trade Cooperation between the ACP and the EU: Assessing the options, Thomas R.H. (ECDPM Working paper # 16). Maastricht: ECDPM.
WEBSITES
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Europa europa.eu.int Euforic www.oneworld.org/euforic The European Union in the U.S eurunion.org Cadbury Limited www.cadbury.co.uk World Trade Organization (WTO) www.wto.org International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) www.icco.org General Secretariat of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States www.acpsec.org
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