The US estimates that geographical indications, such as protected origin (PDO) names, constitute a restrictive factor in their efforts to boost exports of agricultural products to the European market. In this context, in addition to the slice Produced in Greece, another product that seems to make US trade in the European market difficult is the Parmesan from Italy.

In particular, the “2025 Special 301 Report” exhibition of the United States Commercial Representative (USTR) reports:

The United States is working intensively through bilateral and multilateral channels to promote US interests in terms of market access to foreign markets and to ensure that the European Union (EU) commercial initiatives, its Member States, its own countries and the international organizations related to geographicals. Geographical indications usually include toponyms (or words associated with a place) and identify products as products of particular quality, reputation or other characteristics that are essentially attributed to the geographical origin of the product. EU agenda for geographical indications remains extremely alarming because it significantly undermines the protection of trademarks held by US producers and sets barriers to market access to US products based on common names such as parmesan or slice.

First, the EU’s geographical indications system raises concerns about the extent to which it damages the scope of the protection of trademarks, including exclusive rights in registered trademarks that existed before the protection of a geographical indication. Trade brands are one of the most effective ways in which producers and companies, including small, small and medium -sized enterprises, can create value, promote their products and services and protect their trademarks, and even in terms of food and beverages. States, in the EU and around the world. Trading systems offer strong protection through processes that are easy to use, cost -effective, transparent and provide guarantees of proper process. Buses also offer high levels of consumer awareness, a significant contribution to GDP and employment and acceptable international protection systems. The EU’s geographical indications system undermines the protection of trademarks and can lead to the confusion of consumers to the extent that it allows for the registration and protection of geographical indications that seem confusing with previous brands.

Secondly, the EU system and geographical strategy have adversely affecting the access of American and other producers to the EU market and other markets, providing protection in terms that are considered in these markets as the common name of products. The EU has granted a geographical indication protection to thousands of terms that now only some EU producers can use in the EU market and many of these producers then prevent the use of any term that even “refers” to a geographical indication. However, many EU Member States, such as Denmark and France, continue to produce products claimed as geographical indications of other European countries, such as sliceand export these products outside the EU using protected geographical indications as a common name of products …

In the context of negotiations on trade agreements, the EU is pushing its trade partners not to allow any producer, except those in some EU areas, to use certain product names such as fountain, gorgonzola, parmesan, Asiago or slice. This is despite the fact that these terms are the common names for products produced in countries around the world. In the EU and in other markets that have protected EU geographical indications in the context of their own geographical indications, US producers and traders are either excluded from these markets or have to adopt difficult bypasses. Whether they cannot use these characterizations at all, or anything that refers to them, in the market, or at best they can only sell their products as a “fountain type”, “gorgonzola”, “Asiago-” or “type” ‘Imitation feta’. This is expensive, unnecessary and can reduce consumer demand for non -EU products, as well as reduce consumer choices and confusing consumers.

You can see here the entire exhibition “2025 Special 301 Report”.