US objects to Mexico’s new trade deal with EU protecting regional products

The European Union and Mexico signed a modernized Global Agreement on May 22, 2026, and the US is not happy about it. At the center of the dispute: cheese names. The deal, inked during the 8th EU-Mexico Summit in Mexico City, expands protections for 568 EU geographical indications in Mexico. That means products like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Roquefort, and hundreds of other traditional European food and beverage items get exclusive naming rights in the Mexican market. American producers who sell their own versions of these products under similar names see that as a direct threat to their business. The cheese war nobody expected Geographical indications, or GIs, are a form of intellectual property that ties a product’s name to its region of origin. Think Champagne, Prosciutto di Parma, or Feta. Europe treats these names like trademarks. The US treats many of them like generic terms anyone can use. US trade officials argue that the deal’s GI provisions could conflict with commitments Mexico already made under the USMCA, the trade pact between the US, Mexico, and Canada that replaced NAFTA. Under USMCA, Mexico agreed to allow American producers to continue using 33 cheese names, including ...