John Garton, chief executive of the organisation, said that the decision followed eight years of work and would legally protect Jersey producers who sold their goods across the Atlantic under the mark, which is a guarantee of Island provenance.
The development comes as part of a series of initiatives designed to develop business ties with the USA, in particular the state of New Jersey.
Mr Garton said that securing the US trademark followed similar successes in the other ‘powerhouse’ economies of China and the EU.
‘We had the Genuine Jersey trademark in Europe and in China and we realised, of course, that we really needed it in the USA. It has taken us eight years to get it approved there,’ he said.
‘It had been rejected but we went to an appeal and finally got it pushed through this year.’
He added that some of the Island’s emerging tea growers had already shown interest in exporting to the USA under the Genuine Jersey mark.
‘Having the trademark will enable members to use the Genuine Jersey brand, knowing that it is exclusive to them and the law is on their side,’ he said.
‘There are a couple of members who have shown interest in the US market, the latest one being tea growers.’
Speaking at a Jersey Finance Funds Masterclass event this week, Tom Le Feuvre, the government’s director of global markets, said that economic ties with the USA were being developed in several ways.
‘The USA is one of the 14 priority jurisdictions in the Government of Jersey’s global market strategy,’ he said.
‘We have been building links there for a number of years. In addition to ministerial visits to New York and Washington, we have been building Jersey’s brand in the USA.
‘And we have been using the historical connection we have with New Jersey. We now have a memorandum of understanding for the twinning of Trenton, the capital of New Jersey, with St Helier.
‘Two Jersey schools are now looking to develop partnerships and Genuine Jersey is looking to promote our non-financial services trade exports, following the successful application of the Genuine Jersey trademark there.’
He added: ‘We also have an MOU between Digital Jersey and the New Jersey Big Data Alliance, which is a group of 16 universities in New Jersey, to develop enhanced digital cooperation.’
He pointed out that Woody Johnson, who until recently was the US ambassador to the UK and is a New Jersey native, made an official visit to Jersey last October, which demonstrated the Island’s new-found ‘visibility’ in the USA.
Mr Le Feuvre said that Jersey was also looking to develop business ties and agreements with several other countries including the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Rwanda.
