The Italian Embassy in Washington organized the symposium "Geographical Indications: Opportunities and Challenges" on Geographical Indications and Denominations of Protected Origin. Members of the main Italian consortia and representatives of American regional products attended the event.

At the outset Ambassador Armando Varricchio recalled how "opening our economies to trade and investments has always been the cornerstone of the collaboration between the USA and Europe" and also a "tool to ensure that our standards are protected in an increasingly competitive global market ". Within this framework - the Ambassador underlined - geographical indications "do not constitute a trade barrier, but rather an indispensable tool to protect producers and consumers, through authenticity, transparency and quality".