From Tokyo, Japan and Changsha, China – this is Down to Business English. With your hosts Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan. Hello Dez. How are things with you? I’m well Skip. I’ve gotten into a nice groove with my classes this term at university. Oh, that’s great to hear. Other than that, not too much going on. Although we did have a long holiday here in China recently. Yeah, that was nice. Really? What holiday was that? It was the Ching Ming holiday, or Tomb Sweeping day — on April 4th.
Tomb Sweeping? It’s the day in China when you pay respect to your ancestors. Typically, people visit the family gravesite, sweep up all the leaves that have fallen. Ah. That reminds me of something very here similar in Japan. It’s called Obon, but it’s observed in August. I’m sure you remember it. I do, yeah. Ching Ming is very similar to Obon. I think quite a few countries in Asia have this kind of tradition. So, did you do anything special for that holiday? I did.
Some of my coworkers and I went out to eat river crawfish, which you know is a local speciality of Changsha. Crawfish. Were they any good? They tasted great, but they were really on the small side. So, it was a lot of work peeling them for not really a lot of food. Yeah, I feel the same way about lobsters in Canada and the US. But these were even smaller.
Well, you know what they say, it’s always a good idea to try the regional specialties of the place you live in or the places you travel to, at least once. I absolutely agree. If you are traveling in Ireland, you’ve got to try Guinness. If you are visiting the Champagne region in France, you got have some Champagne. And as I live half the year in Scotland, Scotch is mandatory. Dez, all of your examples there are alcoholic drinks. Have you been hitting the bottle recently?
No. But all of those examples are iconic products that symbolize the regions they come from. They just happen to be alcoholic. Ah, very true. And that is a great segue into today’s business report. Oh, and what would that be? Our report today is on products that are protected by Geographical Indications or GIs. You mean products that must come from a specific region and be produced following a specific process? That is exactly what a GI is.
And two of the three products you just mentioned are good examples of GIs. Guinness, Champagne, or Scotch whisky? I wonder which two. I would have thought all three would have a geographical indication. Well Dez, you are about to find out. Great. And I really would like to know. So, let’s do this. Let’s get D2B … Down to Business with Geographical Indications. What are they? How do they work? And why is Jamaican Rum stirring up controversy over how GIs are defined?
Let’s start off by talking about what exactly a Geographical Indication, or GI is. And to be honest Dez, until recently I had not even heard of this term. Mm. Neither had I to be honest. It’s not as common of a term as ‘copyright’ or ‘trademark’, but it does fall under the same category of intellectual property and patent law. In fact this entire topic was introduced to me by one of my student’s here in Tokyo who is a patent attorney. So tell us, what is a GI?
A GI, or geographical indication, is an official label used on a product that comes from a specific place. That product has a unique quality or a strong reputation because of where it is made — its geographic location. So it’s not just a marketing term — it’s actually a legal status. That's exactly right. Typically, GIs protect agriculture products, beverages and spirits, and artisan products. And they have a strong connection to the geographic area where they're made.
That is the key point, yes. And who issues a geographical indication? Normally, GIs are issued by a patent office from the country or region the product is from. But they are protected under international trade law. So for example, here in Japan, GIs are issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. In the US, they are issued by the PTO, or Patent and Trademark Office. What about in Europe?
In Europe, GIs are issued by the EUIPO, or the European Union Intellectual Property Office. And the European Commission issues something similar called a PDO, or a Protected Designation of Origin. And what’s the difference between a GI and a PDO? Well, technically speaking, a GI is focused on location whereas a PDO is related more to the craftsmanship that goes into making a product. That does seem like a very ‘in the weeds’ distinction.
It is, so for the purpose of our report, let’s just refer to everything as a geographical indication. Good idea. And what is the purpose of a GI? What do they bring to the table for the producer? Great question. A GI brings three things to the table. They help to prevent counterfeiting, they support local economies, and most importantly — they allow producers to charge a premium price for their goods. Ah well, all ... all worthwhile goals.
And earlier you said that out of Guinness, Champagne, and Scotch Whisky, only two of them are protected under a GI. Any guess as to which ones? I know that Guinness is licensed to many breweries around the world so I got to say Champagne and Scotch are the two that have GI protection. Very good Dez, you are exactly right. Champagne is perhaps the most iconic example of a GI.
For a sparkling wine to be sold under the name Champagne, it must come from the Champagne wine growing region in northern France. And the winemaker must follow the Traditional Method, or Méthode Champenoise, when making it. Well I guess it is a good system to keep traditions and maintain the quality of products. It is also very lucrative. In 2024, over 271 million bottles of Champagne were shipped worldwide — with the UK as its biggest export market. That is a lot of champagne.
You know what, I probably consumed one or two of those bottles myself. What are some other examples of products protected under a GI? Other examples include parmesan cheese from Italy, Belgian chocolate, and even the Cornish pasty from your home country, England. Really?! The humble Cornish pasty. What exactly is a Cornish pasty Dez? It’s a meat and potato pastry, traditionally from Cornwall. I highly recommend trying one if you’re ever in the UK.
If I ever get the chance, I will certainly do that. You must. Anyway, the success of products like these show how powerful location-based branding can be and how important a marketing tool a geographical indication is for producers. But I imagine that GIs can lead to disputes in some cases. Yes they can. Disputes definitely arise. Which brings me to Jamaican rum. You know I’ve had some great times with Jamaican rum. I’m sure … I’m sure you have. So, what's the issue?
Rum happens to be Jamaica’s third-largest export. Er that does not surprise me. Jamaican rum first received a GI designation in 2016. But last year, the Jamaican government updated the definition. Now, to qualify as a Jamaican rum, the rum must be produced, aged, and bottled in Jamaica. The way Scotch whisky needs to be aged in Scotland.
Exactly. The Spirits Pool Association, a regulatory body for the rum industry, supports this rule, saying it keeps value-added work like bottling and labeling in the country — which benefits Jamaica’s economy and tourism. But I take it not everyone agrees? Not everyone, no. National Rums of Jamaica, which owns the Long Pond and Clarendon rum brands, warns of dire consequences if the new standards are enforced. In fact, they say the stricter definition could put them out of business.
I don’t get it. Why would National Rums of Jamaica be against GI protection. Being from Jamaica, you would think they would be very much in favor of it. Well, it’s not that simple. Despite their name, National Rums of Jamaica is jointly owned by the Jamaican government, Demerara Distillers in Guyana, and Maison Ferrand — a French firm. So you're saying it's not 100% Jamaican then. No, it isn’t. But Maison Ferrand's flagship product just happens to be the Plantation Rum brand. I see.
So this is where things get complicated? They really do. Plantation Rum is not completely produced in Jamaica. After initial aging on the island, the rum is shipped to France and aged a second time in barrels that once held cognac. It’s the signature of their double-aged style. They do something similar with whisky, age it in casks that have previously held different wines or spirits to add a complexity to the flavor. The difference is they ship the casks to the whisky not the other way round.
And that is a big difference. The Spirits Pool Association argues that exporting rum for finishing deprives Jamaica of economic and tourism benefits. I can see both sides of the argument. I guess Maison Ferrand would argue that it doesn’t make business sense to ship the cognac barrels to Jamaica only to ship the finished product back to Europe again? I suppose. Is the debate over the GI ongoing? It is, but both sides remain firmly committed to their positions. Well let’s hope they sort it out.
The next time I make myself a Mai Tai or a Bahama Mama, I want to be certain I’m drinking authentic Jamaican rum. If I know one thing for sure about you Dez, you are very particular about your alcohol brands. I sure am. Now, on that note, I think it is time for us to get D2V … Down to Vocabulary. I will start off with the adjective iconic and its noun form icon. An icon is a famous person, or well known thing, that represents a set of beliefs or indeed a way of life.
McDonalds’ Golden Arches are an icon that is instantly recognized throughout the world. That they are. Love them or indeed hate them you certainly recognize them. You can use the adjective form of icon — iconic — to describe something that is famous or well known. In the introduction to today’s report, I described Champagne, Guinness, and Scotch whisky as iconic as they are famous symbols of the places they come from.
Everyone knows Champagne comes from France, Guinness from Ireland, and Scotch from Scotland. That they do. Next on our D2V list is the adjective humble. When you describe someone as ‘humble’, you are saying that they are a modest person. But when you describe a product or a thing as ‘humble’ it means it is simple, plain, and not fancy or expensive. In the story I described the Cornish pasty as humble because it is a simple food that is inexpensive.
Can you give us another example, related to business? You might say that the genius of Nike and Adidas was taking the humble sports shoe and turning it into a designer brand. You could indeed say that. The original running shoe was just a humble shoe. But I wouldn’t call a pair of high end Nikes humble. Well not anymore, no. That was their genius, taking something humble and making it high-end. Ah. I see your point. Our final item today is the collocation ‘dire consequence’.
Yes, you often hear this adjective - noun combination. Let’s break it down. The adjective ‘dire’ describes a situation that’s very serious. It has a very negative connotation and is similar in meaning to ‘awful’ or ‘terrible’. The noun ‘consequence’ means the result of something and most often it is a bad result. So a dire consequence is a very serious, bad result.
Precisely. In the story, Skip reported that National Rum warned of dire consequences if the new Jamaican Rum GI did not allow them to age their rum in France. Going out of business would certainly be a very awful result. Dez, can you give us another example using ‘dire consequence’? I can. If the trade war between the US and China isn’t settled soon, there will be dire consequences for global supply chains and international investment. Very true.
In my humble opinion, I don’t think trade tariffs are a very good economic strategy. Would you like to help Down to Business English reach more people wanting to improve their Business English skills? Follow Down to Business English on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, or any place podcasts are found. Leave a rating and a review and tell everyone how much you enjoy the show. Thank you for that report on geographic indications, Skip.
I have a much better understanding of what they are and why they are important. My pleasure Dez. I learned a lot about them too as I researched this topic. I don’t think I will look at a bottle of rum the same way again. D2B Members and Apple Podcast Subscribers — the bonus Down to Vocabulary episode for today’s report will be released very soon. In that bonus D2V episode, we’ll talk about five other useful words and expressions from today’s report.
On the bonus D2V list are the words and phrases: to get into a groove, to be in the weeds, to bring something to the table, a dispute, and a flagship product. Be sure to look for that bonus episode in your podcast feed. D2B Members, make sure you have copied and pasted the member-only RSS URL link from your account page on the D2B website into your podcast app. If you are an Apple Podcast Subscriber — no need to do anything.
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And to become an Apple Podcast subscriber, just visit the Down to Business English show page in the Apple podcast app, and click ‘Subscribe’. Thanks for listening, everyone. See you next time. Bye bye. Have a comment or question about today’s show? Don’t be shy… visit the D2B website or Facebook page, and post any comments or questions there. Skip, Dez, or Samantha will be sure to leave a reply. Down to Business English … Business News, to improve your Business English.