Canada-EU Deal Misguided on Generic Cheese Names

In a statement, USDEC and others express concern that Canada is working to limit access for highly competitive U.S. products.

The text of the European Union-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) released at the end of last week is misguided in multiple ways.

But what’s particularly alarming are the provision on geographical indications. It grants automatic protection to the EU for “asiago,” “feta,” “fontina,” “gorgonzola” and “munster” in complete disregard of Canadian intellectual property laws. Cheese manufacturers that produced those cheeses prior to October 18, 2013, will be allowed to continue to use those names, but future producers of those cheeses will have to add qualifiers, such as “kind,” “type,” “style” and “imitation.”

These new limitations on the use of generic names clearly violate Canadian intellectual property procedures and existing international trade commitments.

“Canada added insult to injury by not only impairing the quality of the cheese market access U.S. exporters expect to gain through ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, but also moving to water down the small access they currently offer to U.S. exporters through Canada’s WTO quota,” said Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president for the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “This is yet another example of Canada’s work at every turn to limit access into its market for highly competitive U.S. products.”

USDEC, NMPF and IDFA have a joint news release.

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff that builds on collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to build global demand for U.S. dairy products.