Cheese Name Dispute Threatens US-Mexico Trade Talks

Mexico’s recently signed trade pact with the European Union (EU) grants special legal protection to hundreds of European products whose names are tied to specific regions—examples include Parmigiano Reggiano, feta and manchego. The United States objects, arguing that names such as “parmesan” and “feta” are generic terms that should remain usable by American producers in the Mexican market. The disagreement has become a flashpoint in ongoing US-Mexico negotiations for an interim bilateral trade deal and a review of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

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The EU’s Geographical Indication (GI) framework requires that protected names be used only for products originating from designated regions. Mexico’s agreement with the EU, signed earlier this year, extends these protections to the Mexican market, obligating importers to label European cheeses with their protected designations or with alternative descriptors such as “imitation feta.” The United States, through the Office of the US Trade Representative, has repeatedly condemned the EU’s GI system as “harmful” and warned that the Mexican treaty would force US dairy exporters to adopt costly labeling changes.

The Straits Times

• US dairy exporters ship roughly $1 billion in cheese to Mexico each year, far exceeding the EU’s annual dairy exports to the country, which total about $200 million.

The Straits Times

• The United States faces a $1.2 billion cheese trade deficit with the EU.

The Straits Times

• Imported cheeses now account for nearly 30 % of Mexico’s domestic cheese consumption, a share that has grown steadily since the 1980s.

The Straits Times

• Jaime Castaneda, executive vice president of the US Dairy Export Council, called the Mexican action “absolutely wrong” and urged Mexico to ensure that US producers can continue selling cheeses under common names.

The Independent

• The US Trade Representative’s April report described the EU’s GI system as “harmful” and said that requiring “imitation” labels imposes unnecessary financial burdens on non-EU dairy producers.

The Independent

• Mexico’s economy ministry confirmed that the EU-Mexico agreement still requires legislative ratification before it can take effect.

The Straits Times

Mexican cheese distributor Rodolfo Navarro, who runs a family-owned business, welcomed the EU deal because it would lower tariffs on European imports, but he warned that US producers “undercut domestic pricing.” The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, in a 2023 analysis, warned that Mexican dairy producers are vulnerable to cheap US exports, a concern echoed by local cheesemongers.

The Straits Times

• “It's absolutely wrong what Mexico did,” — Jaime Castaneda, executive vice president of the U

The Independent

• “The U.S. has always been a nation of high-volume consumption, which is precisely the opposite of what designations of origin represent,” — Antonio Martinez

The Independent

• “The U.S. is flooding the Mexican market with its cheeses because they can sell them very cheap,” — Georgina Yescas Trujano, co-founder of Mexica cheesemonger Lactography

The Independent

*Report dated August 28.*

The Straits Times