Washington Watch

Dairy industry representatives are taking aim at European dairy subsidies, lobbying Congress to push for a crackdown on these subsidies in the continuing round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on agriculture.

NMPF, Export Council Take Issue With European Subsidies

Dairy industry representatives are taking aim at European dairy subsidies, lobbying Congress to push for a crackdown on these subsidies in the continuing round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks on agriculture. The National Milk Producers Federation has teamed with the U.S. Dairy Export Council to present a unified case to policymakers about the need to eliminate export subsidies, many of which are found in Europe. The two organizations have jointly published a brochure they are now distributing on Capital Hill. In a recent hearing, USDEC President Tom Suber told a Congressional committee the European Union's insistence on including the issue of "geographical indications" in the current WTO round is a strategy designed to protect the EU's massive export subsidies and high market access barriers.

IDFA Continues Push for New Standards

Food technology, processing methods, ingredient science and consumer preferences have been changing with blinding speed, but government food regulations haven't kept pace. That's the view of Greg Frazier, senior v.p. of the International Dairy Foods Association. In a letter to FDA regulators, Frazier said IDFA would like to see a wholesale revision of its standards of identity for dairy products, with special emphasis on streamlining the review and approval of petitions. "Modernized standards should account for scientific and technological advances as well as enable manufacturers to respond effectively and quickly to changes in consumer preferences," Frazier said.