The National Milk Producers Federation has joined a number of farm groups in sending a message to the White House on WTO talks. Will these talks ever get anywhere? Who knows. But at least we know they’re “talking.”

In a strongly-worded letter to the White House, the National Milk Producers Federation today urged the Bush Administration’s trade negotiators not to yield ground to other parties involved in the World Trade Organization talks unless additional farm policy concessions are put on the table by others countries involved in the
negotiations. The letter, which was co-signed by 11 different farm and commodity groups in addition to NMPF, reminded the White House that “a very generous U.S. offer” to reduce domestic farm programs was put forward in October 2005, but was conditioned on increased market access for American farm products, including dairy foods, in other world markets.

Today, the letter said, “it seems clear that other countries have pocketed the U.S. offer…without being prepared to even come close to the U.S. proposal on increasing market access in both developed and developing countries.” The U.S. farm groups said that other countries, including those of the European Union, are now actually asking for “even greater concessions in domestic support” without offering any more concessions of their own.