From 1 June of 2012, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region. The new agreement announced by the European Commission implies the creation of a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale.

The European Union and United States agreed in a New Partnership on Organic Trade. This agreement, which will be applied from the beginning of June 2012, establish that organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region. The organics sector in the United States and European Union is valued at roughly €40 billion combined, and rising every year. With this partnership between the two largest organic-producers in the world, it is establish a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale. Recently, the Commission also annunced the new rule for labels in organic wine.

According to the EU Commissioner responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Cioloş, this agreement comes with a double added value. On the one hand, organic farmers and food producers will benefit from easier access, with less bureaucracy and less costs, to both the U.S. and the EU markets, strengthening the competitiveness of this sector. In addition, it improves transparency on organic standards, and enhances consumers' confidence and recognition of organic food and products.

Both parties are committed to ensuring that all traded organic products meet the terms of the partnership, retaining their organic integrity from farm to market. Moreover, all products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic export certificate. This document will show the production location, identify the organisation that certified the organic product, verify that prohibited substances and methods weren't used, certify that the terms of the partnership were met, and allow traded products to be tracked.