U.S.-Mexico Dairy Alliance Launched at August Summit
September 7, 2016
Industry leaders from both the U.S. and Mexican dairy sectors held a two-day summit last month to foster a renewal of the strong relationship between farmers in both countries. Representatives from both nations, including NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern and U.S. Dairy Export Council President Tom Suber, pledged to work together to boost trade between the two countries, address mutual challenges and increase dairy consumption while also promoting milk production on both sides of the border.
At the summit, the dairy leaders signed a memorandum creating the US-Mexico Dairy Alliance, which will meet annually to exchange information, review industry trends and identify and seek solutions for problems affecting the dairy sector in each country. Additionally, the industries committed to seeking ways to further reduce trade barriers between the two countries and defend against efforts to capture generic cheese names like parmesan, asiago and feta for the exclusive use of some European producers.
Signing the memorandum for the United States were Mulhern, and Suber. Signing for Mexico were Salvador Álvarez Morán, president of the Mexico Livestock Association (CNOG) and Juan Carlos Pardo, president of the National Chamber of Industrial Milk (CANILEC).
The summit re-energized a relationship forged under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which was created in 1994. NMPF has consistently pointed to NAFTA as an example of a trade agreement that substantially benefits the countries involved.
“Since NAFTA, our markets have converged seeing both U.S. and Mexican dairy farmers growing. U.S. dairy exports to Mexico have increased significantly, while Mexico’s internal milk production has also seen expansion,” said Mulhern.
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