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 Parmesan and Gouda, that Europe considers protected regional designations.

Now the EU deal appears to pull Mexico in the opposite direction, potentially forcing those same cheese names off American-made products sold in Mexico. Washington has flagged this as a priority concern.

What the deal actually does

On the tariff side, the changes are substantial. Mexican tariffs on many EU cheeses will drop from as high as 45% to zero. Yogurt tariffs fall from 20% to zero. These reductions give European food producers a significant cost advantage when competing in the Mexican market.

The GI protections cover 568 European products in total. That includes 336 additional food and drink products beyond the 232 spirits that were already protected under earlier agreements.

In 2025, EU agri-food exports to Mexico totaled roughly €2.5B. With tariff barriers coming down and brand protections going up, Brussels clearly expects that number to grow.

For Mexico, the deal also secures reciprocal benefits for Mexican exports heading to the EU, including protections for Mexican GIs like tequila and mezcal. The agreement received interim approval from EU institutions in July 2026.

Mexico’s diversification play

Over 80% of Mexican exports go to the United States, a concentration that any risk-conscious policymaker would want to reduce. That dependency became especially uncomfortable during the Trump administration’s tariff actions, which introduced uncertainty into a trade relationship Mexico had long taken for granted.

What happens next

The core question is whether Mexico can honor both agreements simultaneously. USMCA’s provisions on cheese naming rights and the EU deal’s GI protections appear to point in different directions.

US trade representatives have signaled that this issue will be a priority in upcoming negotiations. European officials, meanwhile, view GI protections as non-negotiable. The EU has fought similar battles with the US directly, including during the failed TTIP negotiations, and has consistently treated geographical indications as a red line in trade talks.

For American food producers, the practical concern is straightforward. If a company in Wisconsin can’t label its product “Parmesan” in Mexico, it loses a marketing advantage that took decades to build.