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U.S. Dairy Processors Hail Passage of DR-CAFTA

Posted on: Thursday, 28 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The lead trade association of U.S. dairy foods processors, manufacturers and suppliers today hailed the House passage last night of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with the Dominican Republic and Central America (DR-CAFTA).

"The DR-CAFTA region is an emerging market for dairy products, so we have strongly supported passage of this important agreement," said Connie Tipton, President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. "And, importantly, passage of DR-CAFTA helps keep the U.S. in a good position at the table for the larger World Trade Organization Doha Agricultural Round, which we are counting on to yield badly needed reform in agricultural trade."

Last year alone, ice cream exports to the DR-CAFTA region grew by 100% and whey exports grew 9%. Under the agreement, duties on many dairy products will be reduced in the first year, and fully eliminated within 20 years. For example, upon implementation, the U.S. dairy industry will gain immediate duty-free and unlimited access for U.S. whey and lactose -- growing categories in U.S. production and marketing. For cheese, DR-CAFTA sees the immediate increase of tariff-rate quotas; after 20 years, duties and quotas on cheese will be eliminated.

Another issue of importance to the U.S. dairy industry is sugar.

"The inclusion of sugar in the DR-CAFTA agreement is an important step forward in allowing U.S. dairy processors access to more competitively priced world sugar," Tipton said. "If U.S. companies were able to purchase sugar at world prices, the dairy industry could save as much as $110 million annually. DR-CAFTA is a modest but positive step forward."

Under the agreement, U.S. companies will be able to import 109,000 metric tons of sugar from the DR-CAFTA nations within the first year; this amount will grow to about 153,000 metric tons annually over 15 years.

IDFA is the Washington, D.C.-based organization representing the nation's dairy processing and manufacturing industries and their suppliers. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). Its 500-plus members range from large multinational corporations to single-plant operations, and represent more than 85% of the total volume of milk, cultured products, cheese, and ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at http://www.idfa.org/.

International Dairy Foods Association

CONTACT: Marci Cleary of the International Dairy Foods Association,+1-202-737-4332

Web site: http://www.idfa.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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