The U.S. Has a Beef With Europe—Over Cheese

livemint.com:

genetically modified crops. The U.S. is the world’s top exporter of food, excluding fish, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, shipping out close to $200 billion in agricultural exports in 2022, according to the Agriculture Department.

U.S. food producers have also taken steps to protect some products with geographic ties, including trademarks that protect Idaho potatoes and Florida oranges. The governor of Hawaii signed a law in July requiring more disclosure on labels of Kona coffee blends.

Castaneda said these are legitimate protections in line with EU regulations for products tightly associated with a specific region. The EU goes too far, he said, in extending those to more common terms. “‘Idaho potatoes’ identifies a specific region," he said.

“When you’re looking for a cheese, you’re looking for a method of production." Castaneda’s group is among those pushing Congress to include a provision in the coming farm bill that would direct the Agriculture Secretary to work with the U.S. Trade Representative to secure U.S. food makers’ rights to use common food terms.

“If not curtailed, this could be a really big injury to our export markets," said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), who is backing the bill along with Senate GOP Whip John Thune (R., S.D.) and others. EU officials said these protected products, known as “geographical indications," represent intellectual property and command a premium because consumers associate these products with the regions responsible for their high reputation.