IDFA Disappointed by Suspension of WTO Talks
Washington, D.C.-based International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is disappointed that global trade talks came to a halt in Geneva in July as trade ministers failed to make progress on the key issues of market access and domestic subsidies in agriculture.
IDFA officials believe multilateral negotiations in
the World Trade Organization (WTO) provide the best and most important
opportunity to open markets for U.S. dairy products and dairy-containing
foods. “We are disappointed that the negotiations have been
suspended,” says Clay Hough, IDFA senior vice president and general
counsel. “The U.S. dairy industry has plenty to gain from an
ambitious Doha Development Agenda agreement, and we fully support the U.S.
government position requiring increased market access.” Hough
explains that the U.S. dairy industry is poised to become a more prolific
supplier of value-added dairy products, building on the innovation and
economies of scale that are the hallmark of competitive industry in the
United States. “We in the dairy-processing industry are truly bullish
on our future in the global marketplace, and we want the best possible
conditions — open and competitive markets where consumers, not
governments, pick winners and losers — to pursue our objectives. We,
therefore, encourage all trade ministers to continue working to break this
impasse,” he says.
IDFA supports the Bush administration’s
ambitious Doha objectives to eliminate market access barriers, export
subsidies and trade-distorting domestic support. These objectives would
expand market opportunities for the U.S. dairy industry, because demand for
dairy products grows as incomes grow, especially in developing countries.
“We encourage U.S. efforts to focus the world on the importance of
successfully completing Doha for the right reasons — creating
substantial new opportunities to trade and eliminating trade-distorting
subsidies,” Hough says. “We also call on Congress to extend the
Trade Promotion Authority to provide ample time to conclude the round and
other important trade negotiations that remain unfinished.”
DFA Supports Decision to Leave Trade Talks
The dairy farmer leadership of Kansas City, Mo.-based
Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (DFA) commends U.S. trade negotiators for
stepping away in August from World Trade Organization (WTO) talks in
Geneva, Switzerland. U.S. negotiators are holding out for substantial
improvement in trade policy related to agricultural products and
commodities.
“The lack of progress in the WTO over the past
year has been unfortunate, but the problem would have been compounded if
the United States were to agree to a flawed treaty that doesn’t
represent real progress for dairy farmers,” says Tom Camerlo, DFA
chairman and a dairy farmer from Florence, Colo. “Rather than
accepting a bad deal at the last minute, it’s better that we step
away from the negotiating table and assess what the next steps should
be.”
The WTO round has been suspended for an indefinite
period because of inequities that remain among developed nations like the
United States and the European Union (EU) and differences between developed
and developing countries. Much of the impasse is centered on whether the EU
will further open its markets to dairy products, or whether such products
will be on a list of “sensitive” goods that are exempt from
trade reform.
After meeting just days ago with U.S. Trade
Representative Susan Schwab in Washington, DFA’s dairy farmer leaders
made it clear they cannot accept a prospective WTO agreement that retains
the existing disparities between the United States and the EU in key areas
like export subsidies, domestic supports and market access.
“Our farmers greatly appreciate that Ambassador
Schwab listened and understood the nature of our concerns. She held her
position in Geneva, even though it meant the talks would probably
stall,” Camerlo says. DFA’s board of directors also commended
Schwab and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns for their work in the
Doha round and pledged its continued support of negotiations for equitable
trade policy on behalf of U.S. dairy farmers. The cooperative’s
farmer board also endorsed an extension of the president’s trade
promotion authority.
“DFA’s dairy farmer members understand
that the outcome of these negotiations will affect their futures and the
writing of the next farm bill,” Camerlo says. “Right now, it
appears that the EU must determine the next step. Until they are willing to
respond with an equally fair proposal, there is nothing more the United
States should put on the negotiating table.”
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