5. A bumper year for FTAs
The draft Trans-Pacific Partnership is never far from the headlines, though a raft of other trade deals are either under negotiation or being implemented, especially in Asia-Pacific.
Australia-China and New Zealand-South Korea FTAs have recently entered into force and will increase competition from Australasia in two key US markets in the New Year.
Moreover, Australia, New Zealand and the EU are currently negotiating FTAs with more than 40 countries between them, in addition to the TPP signatories.
Not only is dairy market access a priority for all three, the EU is using trade deals to “transfer its restrictive geographic indication regime to as many countries as possible,” USDEC believes. This, it says, will create market access barriers to U.S. cheese trade.
