The European Union and Mexico last month reached an agreement in principle to update their 18-year-old bilateral trade agreement and announced plans to allow only the EU to use several common cheese names, which could include terms like parmesan and feta. IDFA has repeatedly urged the administration to fight EU attempts to use geographical indications (GIs) protections to limit fair competition of U.S. cheeses in Mexico, which is the largest export market for U.S. dairy.
This week, IDFA and other members of the Coalition for Common Food Names (CCFN) called on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to address GIs in the modernized North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
“We implore your office to immediately engage with Mexico during NAFTA modernization talks to address Europe’s plan to undercut U.S. producers and deny them the markets America has spent years cultivating,” CCFN said in a letter to Lighthizer.
The coalition said the EU and Mexico have made clear that cheese names are among 340 GIs included in the agreement in principle, although a list of names has not been released.
“We fear that the EU-Mexico deal will reverse existing market access for some U.S. food producers, while denying others the right to market their products in the future using generic names that have been used around the world for decades,” CCFN said. “For example, U.S. parmesan, muenster and asiago cheeses, among others, will face new hurdles to entering the Mexican market, which is America’s biggest and most important dairy export destination.”
The coalition said the GIs lower the value of trade commitments that Mexico has made to the United States under NAFTA. It called for the U.S. government to address the issue before U.S. Mexican and Canadian negotiators reach an agreement in principle to update the existing pact.
“As discussions continue, we urge you to remain steadfast in your commitment to protect existing Mexican markets, including those for the common name products targeted by this new third-party trade agreement, while looking to expand opportunities in Canada where tariffs and non-tariff barriers like the Class 7 milk pricing scheme block U.S. sales,” CCFN concluded.
For more information, contact Beth Hughes, IDFA director of international affairs, at bhughes@idfa.org.