USTR Calls Out Misuse of Geographical Indications as Major Trade Barrier

The annual report outlines major global intellectual property concerns. It highlighted the European Union’s persistent campaign to monopolize common names—such as “parmesan” and “feta”— through protectionist geographical indication (GI) policies. These efforts restrict the use of widely recognized food and beverage terms to only specific European producers and effectively cut U.S. producers out of certain key markets. 

Landmark Agreement Secures U.S. Exporters’ Rights to Use Common Names in Chilean Market

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) commended the passage into law of commitments by the Chilean National Congress that safeguard the rights of U.S. cheese and meat exporters to use certain common names – such as “parmesan” and “prosciutto” – to market and sell their products in the Chilean market.