Obama Requests Input on NEI to Expand U.S. Dairy Export Markets
August 2, 2010
Obama Requests Input on NEI to Expand U.S. Dairy Export Markets
NMPF submitted joint comments last month with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) in response to President Obama’s call for input on the National Export Initiative (NEI), a goal to double U.S. exports over five years (from 2009 levels). NMPF and USDEC focused on several important areas which would help to reach this goal and either stimulate or safeguard dairy export markets for U.S. products.
The dairy organizations addressed major concerns that could impede U.S. dairy exports, such as the ongoing dairy health certificate discussions with China, the EU’s unscientific somatic cell count regulation, and India’s de-facto ban on U.S. dairy exports through its inappropriate dairy certificate requirements. The comments also addressed the need for greater coordination between the agencies skilled in determining the best strategies for resolving trade disputes (USTR and FAS) and the regulatory agencies that frequently are essential in securing resolution from a technical standpoint (FDA, AMS, and APHIS).
The comments urged support for the three pending U.S. free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, with a particular focus on the significant importance of the agreement with South Korea (NMPF also joined a coalition of 41 other agricultural and food organizations that urged congressional leaders to take action on the three trade deals). The comments also noted that our competitors are swiftly negotiating meaningful agreements such as with China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in important dairy markets; the only new U.S. trade initiative is the TPP, which offers only very limited new export potential to the U.S. dairy industry. Given this greater focus by competing nations on bilateral trade deals, it makes the conclusion of a well-negotiated WTO Doha Round agreement all the more important.
NMPF and USDEC addressed the topic that NMPF wrote to President Obama about in July: the concern that ongoing lack of U.S. compliance with our NAFTA trucking obligations to Mexico puts U.S. dairy exports at risk of retaliatory tariffs from Mexico. Given that Mexico is by far largest export market for the U.S., this poses a grave risk to U.S. exports. On another front, the EU’s efforts to claw back generic cheese names such as parmesan, feta, and provolone poses a threat to growing U.S. cheese exports. The comments urged USTR to expand its efforts to combat this inappropriate market share grab by the EU.
