Dairy Processing - January/February 2022 - 61

panel to resolve a dispute over how Canada administers quota
to import dairy products from the US. The panel delivered its
final report on December 20, 2021.
Canada holds tariffs rate quotas on 14 categories of dairy
products, including all cheese types and industrial cheeses.
The dispute brought by the US found fault with how Canada
administered these quotas. Canada is allowed to allocate
quota and chose to reserve quota for dairy processors and
further processors. Together, these Canadian processors hold
85 to 100% of dairy import quotas.
The US argued that Canada limited access to an allocation
to processors (and further processors), and the dispute
settlement panel agreed. " ...the Panel finds that Canada's
practice of limiting access to an allocation to processors
for 85 to 100% of 14 dairy TRQs is inconsistent with Article
3.A.2.11(b) of the Treaty, " the final panel report stated.
Second, in January, a US District Court in Virginia ruled
that " gruyere " is a generic style of cheese that can come from
anywhere. The decision reaffirms that all cheesemakers, not
just those in France or Switzerland, can continue to create
and market cheese under this common name.
OPEN MARKETS RAISE SALES
The gruyere decision provides a pathway to future sales of
US cheese, but equally important, for exports of gruyere
from France, Switzerland and beyond. How? The proof is
in the data: international production of styles like gruyere,
parmesan, Havarti, feta or asiago expands consumer use and
opens global opportunities for cheesemakers everywhere.
For example, the US can certainly agree that the term
Le Gruyere Switzerland AOC (a trademark registered in
the US) can be saved for the Swiss, but gruyere is generic.
Parmigiano Reggiano is trademarked in the US, but the
US Patent and Trade Office has rejected Italian efforts to
trademark the word parmesan here.
The result? The Consorzio for Parmigiano Reggiano
reports annually that sales around the globe and within the US
are booming. In 2020, the US surpassed France to become the
largest export market for this Italian favorite, accounting for
20% of all export sales of Parmigiano Reggiano.
At the same time, production of US parmesan is booming.
Cheesemakers in America have grown parmesan production
41% in the last 10 years, reaching 419 million pounds in 2020.
Similarly, the Greek Exporters Association reported
" dynamic growth " for feta in certain export markets in 2020,
notably France and the US, where sales rose 16.4%. At the same
time, domestic production of feta has shot up in the last 10
years, with American cheesemakers expanding production 33%.
US dairy manufacturers, backed by robust support
from trade and marketing organizations, are building and
protecting export markets, researching new product needs
and fulfilling consumer demand with the mindset that open
trade, unfettered by protectionist policies, can lift sales for all
dairy exporting nations.
It's a winning strategy borne out in sales data. It's a
strategy that respects the potential for traditional cheese
styles but doesn't rest on the past alone.
Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) has
encouraged and supported growth in the nation's dairy
industry through advocacy, education and healthy
competition and collaboration since 1891.
DAIRYPROCESSING.COM | JAN-FEB 2022 61
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