According to Jonas Murillo, the president of the National Chamber of the Canned Food Industry (Canainca), the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Mexico (TLCUEM) and its negotiations brought great news for the jalapeño pepper. In this negotiation, the European Union recognized that this food was Mexican, which means only the chillies produced in Mexico can be considered jalapeños.
This doesn't mean that they can't be produced in other parts of the world. It simply indicates that any jalapeño sown, cultivated, harvested, and processed outside Mexico has to be called by another name, such as green chilli from Jalapa, but not jalapeño.
To achieve this, the negotiators made emphasis on the tradition of cultivating this chilli and that the origin of the name had a direct relationship with a Mexican city.
The Mexican authorities specifically requested this measure because other countries, such as Turkey, market their peppers as if they were Mexican in Europe.
However, this won't take effect until the TLCUEM's renegotiation formally enters into force. This treaty is one of the alternatives that the Mexican government has before the renegotiation of NAFTA.
Any commercial relationship outside of the geographical area that Mexico occupies implies more complex logistics, but developing trade relations is appropriate and profitable for the country, as well as the economy of exports and imports.
Source: pensatomicas.com
