Nicole Gaudiano and Donovan Slack





WASHINGTON – Hang on to your Gorgonzola, America.

Europeans negotiating a free-trade deal with the U.S. have been angling to reserve names like "feta" and "parmesan" only for cheese made in Europe. They also want to mandate that beer names like "Oktoberfest" and meat monikers like "bratwurst" be allowed only on European-produced beer and sausages.

More than 175 House members, led by Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and other Dairy Caucus co-chairs, signed a letter to be sent Thursday to U.S. trade negotiators urging them to warn Europeans that America won't accept such naming restrictions. Vermont's senators, Democrat Patrick Leahy and independent Bernie Sanders, signed a similar letter from more than 50 senators in March.

If U.S. negotiators agree to the European Union's demands, U.S. manufacturers would have to change targeted product names not only for export but for sale in the U.S.

"It's extremely dangerous," Welch said. "The point of our letter is that there would be a significant uproar in Congress if the final trade (agreement) included a provision that would harm our agriculture sector."

The letter will be sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who has been negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union. It says the EU's attempts to use geographical indication regulations to restrict common food names is designed to carve out exclusive market access for its own producers.

"This type of barrier to trade and commerce defies the fundamental goals of a trade agreement, and we urge you to work aggressively against the EU's efforts in this respect in order to preserve both domestic and export opportunities for these products," the letter states.

Such name restrictions have been included in recent EU agreements with Korea, Central America, Peru and Columbia, according to the Consortium for Common Food Names, founded by the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Feta cheese sold in South Korea cannot be called "feta" unless it is from Greece.

The EU announced a deal with Canada last year that would force relabeling of several terms, including feta and muenster, with modifiers such as "feta-type" or "similar to muenster." In most of its agreements, however, the EU has forbidden any term that sounds similar to the protected name, according to the consortium.

"Our understanding is that the EU would like to use TTIP to put in place, here in the U.S., the same restrictions as in Europe and in these other countries," said Shawna Morris, a spokeswoman for the consortium.

Allison Hooper, co-owner of Vermont Creamery in Websterville, has been making feta cheese for 25 years. She said feta is a style of cheese and it's too late to start imposing restrictions on the name when the cheese is manufactured globally. She'd call it "feta-style" if she had to, but she thinks that would hurt sales.

"It creates some confusion, I think, for the consumer," she said. "When you say 'something-style' cheese, it kind of implies that it's less than. I think it would be unfortunate for us to call it 'feta-style' because in my mind, it's feta."

Vermont's biggest cheese producer, Cabot Creamery, makes two types of cheeses that could be affected — cheddar and muenster. The name "muenster," which Cabot produces out of its Chateaugay, N.Y., plant, is expected to be a focus in the U.S.-EU talks because it was targeted in the EU's deal with Canada, according to the consortium. Cheddar hasn't been targeted yet, but the consortium is concerned it could be as the EU expands its list of naming restrictions.

About 1,200 dairy farmers throughout New York state and New England — including 225 in Vermont — support the Cabot business, spending millions a year on marketing, said Doug DiMento, a spokesman for Agri-Mark, the dairy cooperative that owns the Cabot brand.

"If something like this were to happen, those millions of dollars in investments made by our farmers would be for nothing," he said. "It could have a very large impact on us."

An aide to the U.S. trade representative said the office received the senators' letters and would respond directly to them. The office said conversations are in the early stages, but the U.S. and EU have "different points of view" on the naming restrictions.

Europeans haven't made their demands public. European Commission spokesman Roger Waite has said only that name protection "is an important issue for the EU."

The EU has led the way in protecting names associated with region-specific products. For example, Cognac must come from the Cognac region of France, Roquefort cheese must be produced in Roquefort, and Parma ham must come from Parma, Italy.

"The protection of geographical indications matters economically and culturally," the European Commission website says. "They can create value for local communities through products that are deeply rooted in tradition, culture and geography. They support rural development and promote new job opportunities in production, processing and other related services."

Some Vermont artisan cheese makers don't feel threatened by the prospect of European restrictions.

Brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler, who own Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, for instance, made a conscious decision to go their own way in naming their products. Using the name "brie" for their brie-styled "Moses Sleeper" cheese would have been easier for marketing, Mateo Kehler said. But they opted instead for the name of a man killed in Greensboro during the Revolutionary War, hoping to build an original brand with its own lineage — one rooted here that can compete with Europe.

"Every little region has its cheese in France, and wouldn't that be awesome to see happen in the U.S.?" he asked.

Their strategy may be working. In February, their Bayley Hazen Blue cheese landed on the table at a White House state dinner.

"For the French president, no less," Kehler said.

Contributing: The Associated Press.