Ref. Ares(2016)1201804 - 09/03/2016
Ref. Ares(2016)7049618 - 19/12/2016
Catherine Entzminger
European Cocoa Association
Avenue des Gaulois 3, Box 6
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Alison Bodor
National Confectioners
Association
1101 30th St NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001
European Commission
Directorate General for Trade
Rue de la Loi 170
1040 Brussels
Belgium
Brussels, 17 February 2016
Dear
,
We would like to draw your attention to an issue of joint interest faced by the European
and United States (US) cocoa and chocolate industries related to the export of cocoa
and cocoa semi-finished products (cocoa liquor/paste, cocoa butter and cocoa
powder) from the EU to the US market.
The agricultural production of cocoa requires very specific tropical climate conditions. As
such, the vast majority of the world’s cocoa supply is grown in West Africa, with additional
production in Asia and South/Central Americas. In these regions, the cocoa crop is
plagued by a range of pests and diseases. The International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)
estimates that these diseases result in up to 30-40% losses of global production. In an effort
to curb these losses, integrated pest management systems are used that include the use
of agricultural chemicals.
The supply chain of cocoa and chocolate product is inherently integrated with the
growing of cocoa beans in tropical regions and the production and manufacturing of
cocoa and chocolate products in the EU and US. The US relied on processing in the EU to
1
European Cocoa Association aisbl Avenue des Gaulois 3 – Box 6 - B-1040 Brussels Belgium
T +32 (0)2 662 00 06
F +32 (0)2 662 00 08
xxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx www.eurococoa.com
ACCOUNT
IBAN BE
BIC
VAT: BE 472 920 332
meet US demand for cocoa products and the US is an important export market for the EU
cocoa processors.
It would mutually benefit the EU and US cocoa industries to achieve a greater degree of
harmonization between the EU and the US regulatory requirements in terms of validated
methodologies as wel as authorized active substances present in pesticides used in
cocoa.
While the EU authorities have established MRLs for most pesticides that are known to be
used on cocoa, the US authorities have not yet set up tolerance levels for some of these
substances.
The discrepancies in authorized substances, detection methodology and enforcement is
a significant barrier to both the EU export business and the US manufacturing industry. This
has resulted in the obstruction of recent cocoa shipments into the US, causing disruption
to the exporters and manufacturers businesses alike.
The current discrepancies in terms of validated methodologies and authorised substances
between the EU and the US lead to administrative burden, unmanageable increase of
costs and complexity as they require specific adaptation of trade-related operations.
If maintained, these regulatory discrepancies would prevent the TTIP agreement from
realising its ful potential and would restrain the European cocoa industry from seizing
market opportunities that this trade deal wil offer.
Therefore, we would very much appreciate it if you could support our request and ask the
US negotiators:
to recognize default levels for active substances commonly used for tropical
commodities that already benefit from an EU MRL. For instance, the EU uses a
default level for enforcement purposes of 0.01mg/kg for active substances that do
not have a specifical y established MRL;
to align or mutual y accept respective sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards and
procedures, notably as regards methodologies to detect residues, specifical y in
terms of detection limits - while maintaining high levels of health, safety, consumer
and environmental protection;
2
European Cocoa Association aisbl Avenue des Gaulois 3 – Box 6 - B-1040 Brussels Belgium
T +32 (0)2 662 00 06
F +32 (0)2 662 00 08
xxxx@xxxxxxxxx.xxx www.eurococoa.com
ACCOUNT
IBAN BE
BIC
VAT: BE 472 920 332