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US claims victory in cheese dispute with EU

10 January 2022 - Klaas van der Horst

Gruyère is a generic type of cheese, which any cheese producer can use the name and not just Swiss and French cheese makers who comply with a recognition scheme established by the EU. A judge in the US state of Virginia has ruled this in an appeal from a case from 2020.

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The dispute took place between the French and Swiss associations of Gruyère producers on the one hand and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), the US Dairy Export Council, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and a series of smaller dairy organizations in the US.

Celebrating these organizations the pronounciation like a big victory. The Gruyère cheese case is one of many in the trade dispute between the EU and the US over products with a geographically protected origin. 

Gouda and Edam also generic types
Disputes have also been fought over Gouda and Edam cheese. The outcome of that dispute was that Edam and Gouda are not protected products of origin from the Netherlands, but that anyone can also produce these cheeses. Geographical protection applies to Gouda and Edam cheese with the addition of Holland, just like to North Holland Gouda. 

US does not want restrictions, EU does
The dispute between Europe and the US over cheeses runs roughly along the lines that the US wants as many generic indications as possible (because the US has relatively few 'own' types of cheese), while the EU likes to claim historical rights for a large number of cheese types and associated protection rules.

It is still unclear whether the Swiss and French Gruyère makers will continue to litigate against the latest ruling or not.

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