NMPF’s sustained engagement with the U.S. government continues to pay off for American dairy farmers, with a new U.S.-Ecuador reciprocal trade agreement, signed March 13, representing the latest in a string of hard-fought market access wins.

The new deal would improve export opportunities for U.S. dairy products in a market long plagued by restrictive tariffs and nontariff trade barriers and would deliver on several dairy priorities. It would:

• Eliminate tariffs on a range of U.S. dairy products;
• Overhaul Ecuador’s burdensome import licensing system; and
• Recognize U.S. regulatory oversight, including dropping facility listing requirements and accepting certificates from American regulatory authorities.

For cheese producers specifically, the deal protects 40 common cheese names including “parmesan,” blocking foreign competitors from monopolizing terms that U.S. producers depend on.

“With an unprecedented investment in U.S. dairy manufacturing capacity, deals like this are vital to making it easier for international buyers to source the great products our dairy companies are making,” NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud said.

The Ecuador deal is the tenth agreement secured by the Administration that includes new market access for U.S. dairy products. NMPF and USDEC remain committed to working with USTR to support implementation and build on this momentum.