{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fischbach.house.gov/2023/5/rep-fischbach-on-the-introduction-of-the-save-act", "Rep. Fischbach on the introduction of the SAVE Act", "2023-05-18", "2023", "2023-05", "Republican", "House", "MN", "Michelle Fischbach", "F000470", "fischbach.house.gov", "fischbach", "https://fischbach.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. - This week, Congresswoman Fischbach joined a bicameral, bipartisan group introducing the Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act.\n\n\"For years, the European Union has abused geographical indicators as a non-tariff trade barrier, limiting U.S. agriculture export opportunities simply because they rely on using common food names that have been established for decades,\" said Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN). \"The SAVE Act protects common names to ensure U.S. agriculture products can be sold worldwide. I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this legislation that will help restore market access.\"\n\n\u201cRequiring U.S. producers to change the names of their food is confusing for consumers and costly to producers and manufacturers,\u201d said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD). \u201cThe SAVE Act ensures American producers retain vital access to foreign markets in a time that may be more critical than ever.\u201d\n\n\u201cMonopolizing common food names could have major ramifications on American producers and our food supply chain,\u201d said Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA). \u201cThis bipartisan bill will protect American goods from unfair trading practices, that could minimize access to global markets and increase costs for consumers.\u201d\n\n\u201cAmerican producers face barriers in getting their agricultural products to global consumers due to unreasonable trade restrictions on common, descriptive terms,\u201d said Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). \u201cI\u2019m proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation that would empower the United States Trade Representative and Secretary of Agriculture to negotiate fairer trade agreements that give American producers equal footing in these markets. While geographical indicators are important to maintaining the character, quality, and pride of products from our community, we can continue to protect those markers without allowing discrimination against American products.\u201d\n\n\u201cBy exploiting valid geographical indication protections, global competitors have for decades tried to limit competition, block imports, and restrict American-made products from being able to use common food and beverage names,\u201d said Sen. John Thune (R-SD). \u201cI\u2019m proud to lead this effort in the Senate to help level the playing field for U.S. producers by ensuring they can use common food names and preserve and expand foreign market access for their products.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur Made in Wisconsin agricultural and food products are rightfully world-renowned for their quality. But, when foreign countries penalize our producers for using common names like parmesan or cheddar, their unfair trade practices stunt the growth of Made in Wisconsin businesses on the international market,\u201d said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to support this bipartisan legislation that ensures Wisconsin producers and farmers can continue to compete internationally, grow their businesses and keep Wisconsin on the map around the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf the EU were to have it their way, Americans would no longer be able to drink champagne while eating gouda and prosciutto on crackers here in America,\u201d said Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS). \u201cWhile this may at first seem like a small attack on the hors d\u2019oeuvres industry, the consequences of the EU getting their way would go well beyond the charcuterie board. They would close off the global market to new entrants and create trade barriers to reduce competition, control prices and create mass consumer confusion. The SAVE Act will ensure that the U.S. government fights back against the EU\u2019s campaign to ban U.S. market exports.\u201d\n\nThis legislation has the support of key agricultural groups:\n\n\"Throughout the entire dairy supply chain,\u201d explained Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation. \u201cThe dairy producer community thanks Senators Thune and Baldwin and Representatives Johnson, Costa, Fischbach and Panetta for their introduction of the bipartisan SAVE Act today. This legislation will raise the ambition of the U.S. government to preserve the rights of U.S. dairy producers to continue using cheese names long established as generic. We look forward to continuing to work with USDA, USTR and our allies in American agriculture to ensure that U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives can compete on a level playing field around the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe misuse of geographical indications has been hurting U.S. dairy for years, and the European Union continues its efforts to monopolize common cheese names like parmesan and feta,\u201d said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of U.S. Dairy Export Council. \u201cAmerican dairy exporters welcome the introduction of the bipartisan, bicameral SAVE Act today that will direct the U.S. government to take decisive action to counter the EU\u2019s destructive campaign. This new emphasis on protecting common names is a much-needed step in the right direction to ensure that our producers can sell their products in markets around the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe lack of strong action by previous administrations has allowed the European Union to misuse and abuse its geographical indications, hurting U.S. exporters in several markets,\u201d said Jaime Castaneda, Executive Director of Consortium for Common Food Names. \u201cThis new emphasis on protecting common names is a much-needed step in the right direction to ensure that our producers can sell their products in markets around the world. For years, the European Union has been using illegitimate GIs to boost its own producers at the expense of others, putting a tremendous political priority on giving European companies a leg up over producers in the U.S. and other countries,\u201d continued Castaneda. \u201cIt is time that our government takes a more proactive approach to tackling this challenge so that we can turn the tide to stand up for food and beverage producers relying on common names.\u201d\n\n\u201cNASDA supports the SAVE Act which would retain the use of long-held generic food names and protects U.S. food, beverage, and agricultural products from foreign competitors and the restriction of U.S. trade,\u201d National Association of State Departments of Agriculture CEO Ted McKinney said.\n\n\u201cI would like to thank Senators Thune and Baldwin and Representatives Johnson, Costa, Fischbach and Panetta for their leadership in introducing the SAVE Act today,\u201d said Chuck Conner, president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. \u201cAs Congress begins work on the 2023 farm bill, we strongly urge inclusion of this language in the final package. Doing so is essential to helping America\u2019s farmers and their co-ops remain competitive in markets around the globe.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis legislation will bolster our government\u2019s efforts to protect the rights of U.S. wineries to use traditional terms and generic winegrape varietal names and represents an important step in expanding access for U.S. wines to key markets around the world,\" said a representative from the Wine Institute.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:55:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fischbach.house.gov/2023/5/rep-fischbach-on-the-introduction-of-the-save-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3542480301111937, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}