SAFETY Act of 2025

Key Points

• The bill protects the right of American food, wine, and beer producers to use common product names like Parmesan, Feta, Gruyere, and Pilsener when selling in foreign markets. It creates a legal definition of 'common name' and lists dozens of specific food, wine, and beer names that qualify.
• The USDA Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative would be required to actively negotiate with foreign governments through bilateral or multilateral agreements to protect American exporters' ability to use these common names abroad.
• The bill responds to a growing international trade dispute where some countries, especially in Europe, restrict certain food and drink names to products made in specific geographic regions. American producers argue names like Parmesan and Feta have become generic terms used worldwide.
• The bill adds a new category of trade barrier to existing law, classifying any foreign rule that bans or restricts use of a common name for a U.S. food product as an unfair trade practice.
• Congress would receive regular updates on progress through mandatory semi-annual briefings from the USDA and USTR to four congressional committees.