IDFA pleased with key priorities in NAFTA renegotiation

17-Jul-2017 - Last updated on 18-Jul-2017 at 11:07 GMT

The IFDA has reacted to the US government's NAFTA renegotiation document positively. Pic: ©iStock/NiroDesign

Related tags International dairy foods Milk

Canadian dairy policies and geographical indications are among the topics the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) wants the US government to tackle when North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations take place.

Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), issued a statement regarding the objectives for renegotiating NAFTA that were released yesterday by the Trump administration.

The statement said members of the IDFA are encouraged to see several key priorities for the US dairy industry are reflected in the administration's objectives for renegotiating NAFTA.

“We look forward to working with the U.S. Trade Representative and others in the administration to preserve the critically important dairy export market in Mexico,” Dykes’ statement said.

He said the IDFA was pleased to see efforts to address “unjustified measures that unfairly limit access to markets for US goods, such as price undercutting, included in the administration's negotiating objectives.”

Addressing Canadian policies

This would allow the administration to address Canada's new milk pricing policy, which Dykes said has allowed Canadian companies to sell their products below world market prices.

"Canadian tariffs on some US dairy products are nearly 300%,” the statement noted.

Protecting food names

He noted cheese companies are gratified to see the administration's focus on preventing the undermining of market access for US products through what it called the “improper use of geographical indications.”

He said common food names should be “aggressively preserved for domestic and international use.”

IFDA representation

The IDFA represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers with a membership of more than 500 companies.

IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA).

IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members operate more than 600 manufacturing facilities and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the US.

The entire NAFTA renegotiation document can be found here.