Resumption of U.S. Beef Exports Should Prompt Congress to Approve Trade Bill
Arlington, VA – Now that South Korea will resume the full importation of beef from America, the U.S. dairy industry is urging lawmakers to finish work on the languishing Free Trade Agreement with South Korea.
“We applaud the hard work of the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in working to remove this trade barrier and facilitating more trade between the U.S. and Korea,” said Jaime Castaneda, NMPF senior vice president and USDEC senior policy advisor.
Korea’s imposition of trade barriers to U.S. beef exports had stalled passage of the FTA in Congress during the past year. However, the announcement today that South Korea will now allow complete market access for U.S. beef products should prompt Congress to pass into law a trade agreement that will benefit other agricultural commodities, including dairy.
“The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) believe that now that the issue of beef trade with Korea is off the table, Congress needs to redouble its efforts to pass legislation that will open new markets to U.S. dairy products,” Castaneda said.
The Korea FTA is expected to provide better trading terms through lower tariffs and improved market opportunities for many U.S. dairy products, including cheese, milk and whey powders, evaporated milk, butter and ice cream, among many others. South Korea was the eighth largest market for U.S. dairy products in 2006, with sales of $65.7 million.
Castaneda said the U.S. has been able to grow its dairy exports significantly in the past several years, and that the proposed FTA with South Korea will further establish the U.S. as a key supplier to growing consumer markets in Asia.
The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they collectively own. The members of NMPF’s 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of nearly 40,000 dairy producers of Capital Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit www.nmpf.org.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the export trade interest of U.S. milk producers, proprietary processors, dairy cooperatives, and export traders. Its mission is the enhance international demand for U.S. dairy products and assist the industry to increase the volume and value of exports. USDEC accomplishes this through market development programs that build overseas demand for U.S. dairy products, resolving market access barriers and advancing the industry’s trade policy goals. USDEC activities are supported by staff in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe. Website: www.usdec.org.
