ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) welcomed today’s release of the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2026 Special 301 Report, which details the significant progress made over the past year in securing commitments from U.S. trade partners to protect the free use of generic food and beverage terms. The annual report documenting the most pressing intellectual property issues facing U.S. exporters this year spotlights the Administration’s successful efforts to protect American producers’ use of common names such as “parmesan” and “feta” against the European Union’s protectionist geographical indication (GI) policies. NMPF, USDEC and CCFN have been proud to coordinate with the Administration on combatting policies that 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. “For too long, the EU has weaponized GI policy to crowd out American producers from markets they have served for decades,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “This past year’s reciprocal trade agreements are a sea change, and we welcome USTR’s leadership and persistence in addressing this issue. We encourage the Administration to build on this impressive foundation in every remaining negotiation to ensure U.S. exporters are never again shut out of export markets by the EU’s GI misuse.” “EU GI schemes create a two-tiered system that benefits European dairy producers and stamps out competition,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “NMPF deeply appreciates USTR’s leadership in addressing the GI restrictions detailed in the Special 301 report as a priority trade barrier. We look forward to continuing this great work with USTR.” “The EU’s approach to geographical indications is simply a dressed-up trade barrier. It is entirely unacceptable,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “Too many trading partners have been coerced into imposing barriers on products using common food names. We greatly appreciate the Administration’s leadership in reversing this trend, and we urge USTR to build on their great work securing important protections for common names in nine Agreements on Reciprocal Trade signed to date and protect common names in every market.” CCFN submitted comments to the agency in January, which broke down the many markets where U.S. dairy producers’ common name rights are being threatened, including “asiago,” “provolone” and “gruyere,” and participated in the Special 301 public hearing USTR held in February. NMPF and USDEC filed supporting comments, expressing gratitude for the Administration’s action. All three organizations will continue to work closely with USTR and U.S. government partners to monitor implementation of the reciprocal trade agreements and to ensure that U.S. trade partners fully meet their commitments to maintaining open and predictable access for U.S. dairy and other common name products.

ARLINGTON, VA – The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) today applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a Farm Bill that includes the Safeguarding American Food and Export Trade Yields (SAFETY) Act, a landmark measure to defend American producers’ right to use common food names in global markets. The bipartisan SAFETY Act would direct USDA to partner with the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to make the protection of widely used terms like “parmesan,” “chateau,” and “black forest ham” a priority in international trade negotiations. The legislation is co-sponsored in the House by Reps. Dusty Johnson, R-SD, Jim Costa, D-CA, Michelle Fischbach, R-MN, and Jimmy Panetta, D-CA. “Today’s vote sends a powerful message: the United States Congress not only supports the Administration’s ongoing efforts to protect common names, but is also committed to fighting back in a sustained manner against the European Union’s efforts to weaponize geographical indication policies and shut American producers out of global markets,” said Jaime Castaneda, Executive Director of CCFN. “We commend Chairman Thompson, the House Agriculture Committee, and our bipartisan Congressional champions for their leadership in getting this bill passed in the House. We are encouraged by this milestone and committed to working with members in both chambers to carry this momentum all the way to enactment.” Since 2009, the EU has leveraged its geographical indication (GI) system and trade agreements to claim widely used food names for the exclusive benefit of European producers – restricting competition, monopolizing key markets, and forcing American farmers and manufacturers to absorb lost export opportunities and mounting legal costs. Over the past year, the Trump Administration and U.S. negotiators have made significant progress on this issue, making the protection of widely used food and beverage names a cornerstone of recent reciprocal trade agreements. The SAFETY Act builds on that progress, codifying in law the approach USTR has already demonstrated works in practice, and ensuring that these protections become a durable, consistent feature of U.S. trade policy going forward. Castaneda added, “Every time a foreign government bends to EU pressure on GI policy, common name producers in the U.S. and around the world are harmed. The SAFETY Act is about fairness and coexistence. While the Europeans would rather not compete, we are committed to making sure that the countless outstanding quality common name products produced in the United States are available for consumers in both old and new markets. We look forward to continuing to work with the Senate to get this done on behalf of common name producers and consumers everywhere.”

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) commended USTR for spotlighting persistent trade barriers facing U.S. dairy exporters in the 2026 National Trade Estimate report:

“The EU’s common name confiscation campaign is one of the most cynical trade tactics in the world today, and we are grateful that this Administration has made confronting it a priority,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “By documenting the EU’s geographical indications agenda prominently in the NTE Report and pushing back against it in reciprocal trade negotiations, USTR is standing up for American producers of cheeses, wines, meats, and beers. We strongly encourage the Administration to keep up the great work.”

“The inclusion of dairy trade barriers in this report and the Administration’s concrete action to address them through reciprocal trade negotiations sends a clear signal that the United States is serious about opening markets for American dairy exporters,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Every unnecessary certification requirement dismantled, every unjustified facility registration eliminated, and every market access commitment secured through these agreements is a win for U.S. dairy. We thank the Administration for confronting the barriers directly and we look forward to building on that progress.”

“Nearly one in every six pounds of milk produced in America is shipped to a customer overseas,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “When foreign markets are closed off by bogus restrictions, the pain is felt directly on farms across this country. The Administration’s work through reciprocal trade negotiations to knock down these barriers is exactly the kind of advocacy American dairy farmers need, and we are grateful to see it reflected in this report.”

ARLINGTON, VA — The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) praised Friday’s signing of a U.S.–Ecuador agreement on reciprocal trade. The agreement would improve export opportunities for U.S. dairy products in a market that has been plagued by restrictive tariffs and nontariff trade barriers.

The deal is slated to eliminate tariffs on several U.S. dairy products; recognize U.S. regulatory oversight, including commitments to eliminate facility listing requirements and accept dairy certificates issued by U.S. regulatory authorities; overhaul Ecuador’s burdensome import licensing system for agricultural products; and protect 40 common cheese names like “parmesan.” U.S. dairy exporters have faced challenges in these areas in this market.

“Ecuador has long been a difficult market for U.S. dairy exporters to crack,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “This agreement puts in place the strong nontariff disciplines needed for U.S. dairy exporters of ingredients and various cheeses to make headway in growing their sales to Ecuador, while also improving the tariff landscape in this market.”

“Ambassador Greer, Ambassador Callahan and the USTR team have racked up yet another win for American dairy farmers with this Ecuador agreement,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “With an unprecedented investment in U.S. dairy manufacturing capacity, deals like this are vital to making it easier for international buyers to source the great products our dairy companies are making.”

“The European Union has been working aggressively in Ecuador for several years now to pursue market restrictions impacting sales opportunities for both local product and other non-EU products,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “Our thanks to the USTR team, in particular Ambassador Callahan, for delivering strong common names protection that will provide greater opportunities to sell U.S. products like ‘parmesan’ and ‘bologna’ in a growing region of Latin America.”

The agreement is the tenth trade deal secured to date by the Administration that includes new market access for U.S. dairy products. USDEC, NMPF and CCFN remain committed to working with the Administration to support implementation of the agreement’s provisions.

ARLINGTON, VA – Statement from Jaime Castaneda, Executive Director of the Consortium for Common Food Names:

“We commend Chairman Thompson and the House Ag Committee for advancing a bipartisan Farm Bill this week that provides vital support to U.S. exporters’ rights to use common food and beverage names. The bill’s wholesale inclusion of the SAFETY Act led by Reps. Johnson, Costa, Fischbach and Panetta, would establish a long-term, proactive U.S. policy for our exporters to continue using terms like ‘parmesan,’ ‘bologna’ and ‘chateau’ in markets worldwide. This important legislation builds on the Administration’s impressive work to date to secure explicit common name protections in the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade and is a key tool in fighting against the European Union’s bad faith attempts to monopolize generic terms. CCFN urges Congress to build on the momentum and quickly move this commonsense policy into law.”

ARLINGTON, VA – Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) Senior Director Shawna Morris testified today before the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) Special 301 Subcommittee on the historic progress made in protecting common food and beverage names—like “parmesan,” “feta,” and “bologna”—and the critical need to build on this momentum in ongoing and upcoming trade negotiations.

CCFN submitted comprehensive comments to the agency in January, documenting the groundbreaking achievements of the past year while highlighting key markets where continued engagement is essential to preserve U.S. export opportunities. In her testimony, Morris emphasized that 2025 represented a watershed moment in the protection of common names for U.S. producers, driven primarily by the Trump Administration’s proactive and results-oriented trade agenda.

“After years of uphill battles, the past year marked a real breakthrough,” Morris stated. “Thanks to this Administration’s proactive trade agenda, multiple key markets around the world have now committed to adopt meaningful protections for common names. These are not symbolic gestures. They are concrete, enforceable commitments that preserve market access and give American exporters certainty. They ensure that common names cannot simply be rebranded as exclusive European property and quietly removed from store shelves.”

Reciprocal trade agreements signed with seven countries to date, including markets like Taiwan, Malaysia and Guatemala, represent the best examples of this progress, establishing unprecedented provisions that guard against the monopolization of widely used food and beverage names. All seven agreements include comprehensive lists of generic terms that trading partners have committed to protect and ground-breaking due process protections governing how partners must handle GI applications.

While celebrating these achievements, Morris also underlined the importance of maintaining momentum as the European Union continues to use trade agreements to confiscate common names around the world.

“We must build on the foundation laid in 2025—replicating these gold-standard protections, insisting on transparency and fairness, and using every available tool to defend common names.”

The public hearing is part of USTR’s annual Special 301 review, which identifies countries that are inadequately defending intellectual property rights and informs the Administration’s engagement on intellectual property issues for the coming year.