NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud discusses dairy’s response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), the path forward for Federal Milk Marketing Order Modernization through an approach that puts farmers first, and opportunities for dairy in global markets. Doud spoke in an interview with the Agriculture of America podcast.
By Jaime Castaneda, Executive Vice President, Policy Development & Strategy, National Milk Producers Federation
Exports are critical to America’s dairy farmers and processors. Last year, the American dairy industry exported $8.1 billion in dairy products, roughly 17% of total U.S. milk production. That’s the second-best year on record, falling just short of 2022.
As global demand for high-quality and sustainably-produced dairy products will grow, the U.S. dairy industry must keep exports expanding to thrive today and over the long term. To help encourage that, and in the absence of efforts by the U.S. government to secure new market openings, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) have taken the initiative to drive forward projects to pursue Most-Favored Nation (MFN) tariff reductions in multiple key export markets.
U.S. dairy’s quarter-century of export expansion hasn’t been by chance. The strong commitment from U.S. dairy producers and manufacturers to investing in painstakingly growing international sales, coupled with multiple trade agreements that opened the door for that growth to occur, are key drivers of the trend. Unfortunately, in recent years, anti-trade rhetoric has gained momentum from politicians on both sides of the aisle. Meanwhile, major competitors — namely in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand — have successfully negotiated new market access, advantaging their domestic producers through lower tariff rates and favorable trading conditions. The result is that U.S. producers are increasingly at a disadvantage in several key markets, including China and most countries in Southeast Asia.
MFN tariffs are tariff rates that one country applies to imports from all trading partners that are members of the World Trade Organization. Importantly, MFN tariffs do not apply to products that benefit from even lower rates due to preferential trade agreements, such as a free trade agreement or customs union.
Not content to yield key markets to trade competitors, NMPF and USDEC launched a formal initiative in 2014 to lower duties on U.S. dairy exports in China. Following years of engagement, that resulted in a tariff cut on U.S. cheese exports. A few years later in 2019, NMPF and USDEC’s efforts scored another breakthrough by securing tariff reductions on a variety of exported dairy products into Vietnam.
Halfway around the globe, NMPF and USDEC tallied a small victory in March by successfully petitioning the United Kingdom government to eliminate its 6% tariff on fat-filled milk powder for at least two years.
NMPF and USDEC are continuing to pursue MFN tariff cuts in other key markets around the globe as well, with an emphasis on the growing Asian region, even as government initiative is lacking.
For example, the Philippines is a sizable dairy importer, using those inputs in the Philippine food processing and food service sectors. NMPF and USDEC have impressed upon the Philippine government the advantages of diversifying its dairy supply chains further and are petitioning for MFN tariff reductions for a variety of products, including cheese, lactose, and milk powder.
Although these initiatives by NMPF and USDEC cannot fully replace government negotiation of new trade agreements, efforts to drive down tariffs in these countries represent just a few examples of the markets that NMPF and USDEC are prioritizing as they continue to fight for fair opportunities for U.S. dairy producers and companies to compete in the global market.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on April 4, 2024.
NMPF Executive Vice President Jaime Castaneda discusses efforts to expand dairy market access at recent World Trade Organization meetings in Abu Dhabi in an interview with the Red River Radio Network. Castaneda also discusses trade relations with India and the importance of the NMPF-led Cooperatives Working Together program for the future of U.S. dairy exports.
NMPF Executive Vice President for Policy Development & Strategy Jaime Castaneda testified on the need for greater action from the U.S. government to proactively negotiate common names protections with trading partners, during a Feb. 21 hearing hosted by the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office.
The hearing highlighted the agency’s annual Special 301 process, which seeks to identify intellectual property trade abuses around the world and set up USTR’s IP priorities for the following year.
NMPF and USDEC submitted joint comments in January that complemented a more comprehensive submission from the Consortium for Common Food Names. All three organizations emphasized the urgency of the issue and highlighted the damage done to American cheesemakers when they are not allowed to use the generic terms that consumers have known and loved for generations.
NMPF helped coordinate a pair of letters in February urging policymakers to prioritize new market access, as U.S. agriculture continues to lag behind competitors in the global economy.
NMPF, USDEC and other agricultural organizations signed a Feb. 15 letter to Congress that detailed how the lack of new market access is threatening food and agriculture industry profitability. The letter called for Congress to work with and press the current and future Administrations to open more doors for U.S. agriculture exports.
Meanwhile, the newly launched Ag Trade Caucus, created by Farmers for Free Trade with support from NMPF, sent a Feb. 20 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging the administration to continue to pursue agreements that address the trade barriers that are most harmful to U.S. dairy.
NMPF Executive Vice President for Policy Development & Strategy Jaime Castaneda and Trade Policy Director Tony Rice advocated for U.S. dairy in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, Feb. 26-29, seeking improved market access and pro-dairy policies at the World Trade Organization Ministerial.
As a recognized non-government representative at the Ministerial, NMPF joined the U.S. Coalition for WTO Reform to advise U.S. government negotiators throughout the meeting, meet with the WTO Secretariat and likeminded delegations, and raise the profile of U.S. agricultural trade priorities.
Important issues at stake include:
Castaneda also spoke at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce organized event on the importance of WTO dispute settlement reform and highlighted the outcomes that U.S. agriculture is prioritizing at the ministerial. Castaneda and Rice also met with U.S. Dairy Export Council international staff to receive the latest updates on barriers to trade in the Middle East and North Africa regions.
Shawna Morris, Executive Vice President for Trade Policy and Global Affairs, attended U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) events on Jan. 30-31 representing U.S. dairy in discussions via the Transatlantic Initiative on Sustainable Trade (TIST) work program.
The European Commission launched the initiative last May to boost bilateral engagement with the United States and accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral economy. Morris participated in a high-level plenary session, a smaller breakout session, and a Jan. 30 welcome reception. While there she focused on the need to ensure EU agricultural policymaking is not wielded as a barrier to trade, encouraging the European Union to focus on collaboration on shared objectives rather than prescriptive dictates that would deepen U.S.-EU agricultural trade tensions.
NMPF Trade Policy Director Tony Rice joined Farmers for Free Trade for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 meetings with key lawmakers and staff to promote a more proactive U.S. trade agenda. The meetings coincided with the Jan. 31 launch of the new Congressional Ag Trade Caucus, inspired by the farmer group to elevate the importance of trade policy that levels the global playing field for America’s dairy and ag producers.
Rice spoke with congressional staff about the need for new market access for American dairy exports, relaying the industry’s concern that U.S. exporters are seeing growing disadvantages versus America’s competitors. The discussions also offered the opportunity for NMPF and Farmers for Free Trade to educate newer congressional staffers from agricultural districts about the value of exports to their districts and constituents.
The President’s Export Council approved an agricultural trade proposal introduced by NMPF member Land O’Lakes at a Nov. 29 council meeting. The unanimous decision followed a Nov. 27 letter of support coordinated by NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and signed by 35 leading agricultural organizations.
The approved proposal calls on the administration to diversify the U.S. agricultural supply chain, establish a robust agricultural trade agenda, enforce existing trade agreements, and lead on international climate initiatives.
The President’s Export Council is the primary White House advisory committee on international trade. It includes a broad mix of groups, with Land O’Lakes being the sole agricultural voice. To build support for the recommendations, the letter highlighted the importance of agricultural trade for the U.S. economy and the indispensable role that American agriculture plays in achieving global food security.
With a projected food and agriculture trade deficit of $17 billion for 2023, the letter calls on the administration to implement the recommendations and provide the U.S food and agriculture industry an opportunity to meet growing international demand.
The need to prioritize proper enforcement of trade agreements became especially timely after a U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute panel ruling issued Nov. 24 that will allow Canada to continue to restrict market access for U.S. dairy products, weakening the agreement’s principles.
The ruling follows nearly two years of NMPF advocacy and collaboration with the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture aimed at enforcing USMCA’s dairy provisions.
An earlier panel ruled in January 2022 that Canada had improperly restricted access for U.S. dairy products. In response, Canada made inadequate changes to its dairy tariff rate quota system, resulting in a second challenge by the United States. The decision means Canada is not obligated to make further changes, a disappointment to U.S. dairy farmers and exporters.
“It is profoundly disappointing that the dispute settlement panel has ruled in favor of obstruction of trade rather than trade facilitation,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Despite this independent panel’s adverse ruling, we’d like to thank the Biden Administration and the many members of Congress who supported us for their tireless pursuit of justice for America’s dairy sector. We urge Ambassador Tai and Secretary Vilsack to look at all available options to ensure that Canada stops playing games and respects what was negotiated.”
Despite the discouraging result, NMPF will continue to work with USTR and USDA to address Canada’s ongoing practices to depress U.S. imports and distort dairy trade.
NMPF Executive Vice President Alan Bjerga speaks with RFD-TV about how all of agriculture needs to fight for the integrity of trade agreements in the wake of a USMCA dispute panel decision that failed to protect U.S. access to Canada’s market. The President’s Export Council, with member co-op Land O’Lakes representing farmers, discussed the importance of market access in a White House meeting on Wednesday. Bjerga also talked about the resumption of the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Indiana this week, and how repeated delays aren’t helpful for milk producers.
Today’s ruling by a U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute panel allowing Canada to restrict the dairy access that the United States negotiated for in the USMCA pact weakens the agreement’s value to the US dairy industry, according to the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
An earlier panel ruled in January 2022 that Canada had improperly restricted access to its market for U.S. dairy products. In response, Canada made insufficient changes to its dairy tariff rate quota (TRQ) system, resulting in an outcome that still fell far short of the market access the U.S. expected to receive under USMCA. To address that shortcoming, the U.S. brought a second case to challenge the changes that Canada instituted. Today the panel announced that Canada was not obligated to make further changes.
“It is profoundly disappointing that the dispute settlement panel has ruled in favor of obstruction of trade rather than trade facilitation,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Despite this independent panel’s adverse ruling, we’d like to thank the Biden Administration and the many members of Congress who supported us for their tireless pursuit of justice for America’s dairy sector. We urge Ambassador Tai and Secretary Vilsack to look at all available options to ensure that Canada stops playing games and respects what was negotiated.”
Since the U.S. Trade Representative initially launched the first dispute settlement case against Canada in 2021, USDEC and NMPF have worked with USTR, USDA, and Congress to try to secure full use and value of USMCA’s dairy TRQs for American dairy producers and processors.
“By allowing Canada to ignore its USMCA obligations, this ruling has unfortunately set a dangerous and damaging precedent,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “We do however want to express our appreciation for allies in Congress and the Administration for their efforts and commitment to fighting for U.S. dairy. This is unfortunately not the only shortcoming in Canada’s compliance with its international commitments. We are committed to working with USTR and USDA to evaluate efforts to address Canada’s continued harmful actions that depress dairy imports while simultaneously evading USMCA’s dairy export disciplines.”
When first implemented in 2020, USMCA established 14 different TRQs, which allow a predetermined quantity of imports at a specified low tariff rate. The TRQ system that Canada implemented awarded the vast majority of TRQ volumes to Canadian processors and granted very limited access to TRQs to distributors – resulting in limited market access for U.S. exporters. Minor modifications to that system made in 2022 have continued that imbalanced approach.
By Randy Mooney, Chairman, NMPF Board of Directors
We’ve had a lot of achievements this year, but it’s also been a challenging time.
A year ago, costs on the farm were extremely high, but we had prices that would cover that. This year, costs are still high, but prices are down. That’s a lot of stress on the farm. And we’re also dealing with problems that we’ve dealt with for years.
There are labor problems; you just can’t find anybody to work. Supply chain disruptions are closer to the farm this year. It’s milk trucks getting milk off the farm; it’s feed trucks bringing feed into the farm. It’s getting simple parts that we took for granted we could get anytime we wanted to. There are geopolitical issues and extreme weather events.
We have challenges all the time, but it just seems like we continue to have more. It seems like we’re in the eye of a storm. But as farmers, we always anticipate a moment before the dawn, before things turn, before things get good again.
One of the things I’ve learned is that a lot of the world is envious of what we have.
They’re envious because we have the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, a self-governing program. We have a government that recognizes what we’re doing with sustainability — it’s not being mandated down from the top.
We’re taking care of our own. Today, we produce more milk using fewer and fewer natural resources. We’re revitalizing rural communities. For every dollar generated in dairy farming, it turns over three to seven times in local communities, generating $750 billion in the United States. That‘s pretty impressive.
We’re nourishing families around the world through milk’s unbeatable nutritional value. I’ve dairy farmed for a long time, through good times and bad times, but there’s never been a time that I haven’t laid my head down on my pillow at night and been proud of what I accomplished on my farm. We’re putting the most nourishing, most nutritious product known to man in that milk tank. And when that truck leaves, I know I’ve done something good.
Our ability to evolve how we work and adapt our resiliency is becoming more and more important. This year, we came together as an industry to unite around issues that helped build that resiliency. NMPF worked with member co-ops, farm bureaus, and state dairy organizations to come to consensus on the most substantial issues. Even going back to 2021, when you talk about Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization, we’ve worked hard to get these things done. Nobody knows what the outcome’s going to be, but you telling your story has made a difference.
Beyond that, we’re going to get a farm bill passed — we’re going have an extension. We’ve been working to implement the next version of FARM, FARM 5.0, that goes into effect in July. We also will work on promoting dairy’s sustainable nutrition. Dairy offers the most complete nutritional package available, and what’s amazing is that as we produce more milk, we’ll continue to use fewer natural resources. That’s the definition of sustainable nutrition.
For years, we’ve talked about sustainability in terms of environmental stewardship and how that translates into financial value for farms. Now, the financial values are there. You take solar panels, wind, methane digesters, and a lot of things happen on a farm that’s generating electricity to run your farms and to run your neighbor’s households. We’re there now. What we need is conservation funding in the farm bill through USDA grants through state and federal programs. There’s real money available to help us continue to do that, and we will.
No imitation food from a nut, a bean, or grain can hold a candle to dairy’s nutritional package. We all know that. That’s why it’s important to keep fighting the fight on plant-based alternative labeling. In the guidance that was issued earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized and admitted that plant-based alternatives are nutritionally inferior to real dairy.
Dairy protein plays a critical role in feeding people around the world, and it can’t be replaced by alternatives, including plant-based. Consumers have the right to understand how they’re nourishing their families, and we’re going to continue to advocate for the Dairy PRIDE Act to try to get that passed in Congress.
We’re going to continue to fight for more flavored milk in schools and higher fat levels, especially for those children whose main source of nutrition is through the school milk program. Milk is essential to their diets, and we’re not going to give up that fight. We’re all part of an industry that’s doing remarkable things. We are winning.
This has been adapted from Chairman of the NMPF Board of Directors Randy Mooney’s speech at the National Milk Producers Federation annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 14, 2023. This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Nov. 22, 2023.
