I was wondering how people in the dairy business would feel about the recent WTO agreement that was signed in Hong Kong this past weekend. Then lo and behold I see an announcement from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).
“We are pleased to see that the European Union (EU) and all the WTO membership have finally agreed that agricultural export subsidies should be eliminated, a longstanding goal for U.S. dairy,” said Clay Hough, IDFA senior vice president and general counsel. Despite the limited movement on issues in Hong Kong, Hough said that “an ambitious result still remains viable.”
“Our industry will re-double its efforts,” he said. “The upcoming year will be the year these negotiations succeed or fail for the U.S. dairy sector, so it is imperative that we remain deeply engaged as an industry with our government to help determine the best course to advance our objectives. This is the best opportunity we have had in decades to position our industry for unparalleled global market success.”
To emphasize the interest of the U.S. dairy industry in the negotiations, representatives from several IDFA member companies and IDFA staff attended the Hong Kong ministerial. During the conference, the IDFA delegation met with government officials from the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and with congressional staff from the trade and agriculture committees.
The IDFA delegation also talked with U.S. negotiators about the importance of foreign market access for U.S. dairy companies. “We will continue this dialogue in earnest as the U.S. is in the process of finalizing its market access priorities in agriculture,” said Hough.
In another area of interest to IDFA member companies, the conference reached agreement on providing duty-free, quota-free access for all products coming from least developing countries (LDC). Some of the least-developed countries that will benefit are sugar producers. IDFA would like to see additional liberalization of global sugar markets, including the U.S. market, though it remains to be seen if this initiative will further that liberalization.
Do you feel the same way about the recent agreement in Hong Kong? It seems like kind of a mixed bag for American agriculture and left a lot of work still to be done.