The
DTC Continues to Bring Effects of Trade Negotiations to the Fore
An article appearing in the WISCONSIN STATE FARMER by Jan Shepel illustrates quite vividly the challenges
of world trade negotiations facing U.S. dairy farmers now and in the
future. As always, the DTC was there, championing the cause of U.S. dairy interests.
In an article by Pete Hardin in December's issue of the Milkweek,
the dangers posed by the current U.S. trade proposal are adroitly laid out. |
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Assessment on Dairy Imports Loom
Large....
Included in the House Report for the
2002 Farm Bill (Section 146) is a provision that would require dairy
importers to pay an assessment to the Dairy Promotion and Research
Board. This has set off a firestorm of debate on fairness,
international trade law and U.S. Constitutional grounds. For a
comprehensive look at this divisive issue, follow the dairy
genie.
Roundtable Discussion to Address Legal
Challenges to Agricultural Promotion Programs
On Monday,
July 22, 2002 a Roundtable Discussion sponsored by the DTC
convened to
explore the numerous controversies and lawsuits that
have entangled several mandatory agricultural
promotion programs. For more information, please enter our
conference room to the left. (DTC
Press Release -
DTC Hill Event Focuses on Need for Commodity
Checkoff Dialogue and Reform)
New Trade Advisory Council Formed
The DTC
praises the formation of the Dairy Trade Advisory Council (DTAC).
This advisory council, comprised of public officials from New York and
Wisconsin, will be of invaluable service to U.S. dairy farmers during the
next round of WTO trade negotiations.
DTAC has lost no time in jumping onto
the fray. New York
State Assemblyman Chris Ortloff (R-110th Dist.) and Wisconsin State Rep.
Joe Plouff (D-29th Dist.) sent a letter asking
the leadership of the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture and Finance
Committees and the Secretary of Agriculture and USTR to clarify which
federal nutrition programs, farm policy options and other important
domestic programs are threatened by the U.S. trade negotiating position.
[See the DTC Press
Release, a related article from the Watertown
Daily Times and the response
sent by the USTR.]
Tempers have been flaring and
rhetoric has been flying. National
Milk Producers Federation and WIFE
have exchanged rather heated letters of late and the DTC
has been forced to correct erroneous information on the duty rate of
milk protein concentrates (MPC) compiled by USDEC and DMI.
The Dairy Farmers of Canada have also been busy positioning themselves for
the coming negotiations. John Core,
their retiring president, quite forthright in his criticism of the U.S.,
employing the use of not-so-veiled threats of examining our "glass
house" when it comes to domestic agriculture policies.
"Debunking
the Global Dairy Market Myth" is the newest DTC Position
Paper. It addresses the real issues facing the U.S. dairy industry in
this new era of globalization and the fallacy of export market orientation
as the saving grace for family dairy farmers.
Kohl and Feingold Question
Administration on How Import Access with Lower Tariff Rates Will Benefit U.S. Dairy Producers
In a letter
to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and USTR Charlene Barshefsky,
Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold (both D-WI) express their concerns
regarding the contents of the U.S. submission to the Special Session of the
WTO's Committee on Agriculture that included market access provisions
which would increase TRQ quantities and substantially reduce out-of-quota
duties. (See DTC Press Release)
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Dutch
Report Challenges WTO Legality of Dairy Compacts And Other U.S. Ag
Programs
The DTC recently obtained a report published
by the Dutch Ministry of
Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries and the Dutch Dairy
Association that suggests that U.S. dairy policy is in violation of
WTO regulations. The Report speaks specifically to the FMMO.
However, in combination with a Canadian report issued earlier this year regarding other hidden subsidies, it is clear that the EU and Canada are targeting the U.S. dairy
industry. (See Press Release
6/30/99.)
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For an update to
this report, follow this link
to the Royal Netherlands Embassy web site.
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