Chile approves agreement with U.S. to protect market access for U.S. cheese and meat products

On Tuesday, September 3, the National Congress of Chile approved the agreement on Chile Market Access and Prior Users for Cheese and Meats. The approval of this agreement by Chile confirms the United States’ and Chile’s mutual understanding regarding market access to Chile for a number of U.S. cheese and meat products and how Chile will treat prior users of certain terms for cheeses.

“This is a welcome development from the Republic of Chile, and I would like to thank them for their work on this agreement,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai. “It ensures that U.S. producers of meats and cheeses will not be excluded from the Chilean market and will continue to see the benefits of our mutually-beneficial trade relationship.”

This agreement gives U.S. producers the opportunity to grow their businesses and to supply Chilean consumers with specialty cheeses and meats using certain terms, including parmesan, gruyere, feta, cheddar, gouda, provolone, prosciutto, and salami.

The agreement ensures that current and future U.S. exporters of certain cheeses and meats will continue to be able to use those terms in Chile going forward. This is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to prevent market access for U.S. producers from being undermined through measures that disallow for the use of terms that describe types of cheese and meat products.

This agreement will also be treated as an integral part of the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement, including for the purposes of dispute settlement.