U.S. Dairy Industry & Global Trade Partnerships
Holding several events and discussions over recent weeks, U.S. dairy industry stakeholders and government officials have worked to strengthen ties and discuss new partnerships for dairy and ag trade around the world.
This week, leading dairy representatives from the United States and Mexico gathered at the Dairy Farmers of America headquarters in Kansas City, Kansas, to discuss strengthening cross-border cooperation on dairy issues. The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) served as the U.S. hosts and event organizers. Mexico’s delegation at the meeting included representatives from the Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas (CNOG), Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Leche (AMLAC), Gremio de Productores Lecheros de Mexico, Cámara Nacional de Industriales de la Leche (CANILEC) and Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA).
This was the fifth annual meeting within the framework of the partnership to strengthen the North American milk industry. The partners agreed to:
- Preserve, facilitate and enhance fair trade between the two nations.
- Preserve this forum for discussion and analysis of the relevant topics and issues of the milk- and dairy-producing sectors of Mexico and the United States.
- Have as a key objective the expansion of dairy consumption in both countries to the benefit of producers, manufacturers and consumers in the United States and Mexico. Promote joint activities that help increase the consumption of dairy products within this region.
- Identify and promote actions that improve the productivity of dairy farms in Mexico and the United States.
- Continuously seek to strengthen the image and reputation of milk and dairy products in both countries to defend against the improper usage of milk and milk product names by other products of non-dairy origin.
- Maintain an open communication channel between the milk and dairy producers’ organizations of both countries, with the aim of achieving consensus for the benefit of the industry. Likewise, exchange information and successful experiences through the participation of members of both countries in forums and congresses organized by the associations.
- Work on the strengthening of cooperation in the areas of technological exchange and training, both in terms of milk production at the farm level and in food safety and quality improvement of milk and dairy products from a nutritional standpoint.
- Work on sharing information on key new areas such as sustainability, animal welfare, farm labor and other issues as they appear and mutually agree to the benefit of producers and the industry to ensure that the countries coordinate efforts to defend dairy in international forums and with consumers. Exchange information about the market trends of milk and dairy products in the North American region.
- Continue activities in defense of common food names, in particular cheese names, allowing their free use in the North American market.
- Develop a working plan on the topics of the common agenda, with a follow-up scheme with scheduled meetings.
Also this week, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai joined U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, in Des Moines, Iowa, for a series of events highlighting the Biden administration’s work to expand market access for U.S. farmers, producers and exporters.
Last month, Tai and Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo hosted a virtual ministerial for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), which includes 14 partners representing 40% of global GDP.
Since this event, Tai and other USTR officials have met individually with officials from Japan, Thailand and Australia to discuss progress on IPEF and additional trade issues.
In other trade developments, in the Aug. 5 Federal Register, the Office of the USTR issued a notice and request for comments regarding the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP). Under this initiative, the two governments will pursue enhanced engagement leading to high-standard commitments in a wide range of areas including agriculture.
The United States and Kenya will consider measures to facilitate agricultural trade and enhance transparency and understanding of the application of science- and risk-based sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.
Both governments share an interest in fostering sustainable agricultural practices as well as creating an enabling environment for innovative agricultural technologies that would help achieve food security goals, increase farm productivity and improve farmer livelihoods while addressing climate change concerns.
The deadline to submit comments on the STIP is Sept. 16. For more information or to submit comments, visit www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/05/2022-16798/us-kenya-strategic-trade-and-investment-partnership.
Lastly, this week The United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO), reached consensus on the negotiating mandate for the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade announced June 1, 2022. The mandate sets out the broad objectives shared by the two sides for upcoming trade negotiations. It is expected that the first round of negotiations will take place early this fall.
The United States and Taiwan, under the auspices of AIT and TECRO, have set a robust agenda for negotiations on trade facilitation, good regulatory practices, strong anti-corruption standards, enhancing trade between small and medium enterprises, deepening agriculture trade, removing discriminatory barriers to trade, digital trade, robust labor and environmental standards, as well as ways to address distortive practices of state-owned enterprises and non-market policies and practices. The United States will continue to consult with Congress and key stakeholders like labor, business, environmental groups and others throughout the negotiations, USTR says.
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Source: CMN
