IDFA urges swift passage of free trade agreements

The International Dairy Foods Association has urged the US Congress to move quickly to approve pending free trade agreements (FTAs) with the Republic of Korea, Colombia, and Panama. IDFA’s written testimony submitted to the House Committee on Ways and Means emphasized the positive impact these agreements will have on the dairy industry. Testimony was submitted as part of a recent hearing that focused on the economic and job creating benefits of FTAs.

“While IDFA supports all three pending agreements, the agreement with Korea is one of the most important free-trade deals for the American economy since the North American Free Trade Agreement,” said Clay Hough, IDFA’s senior group vice-president. “The Korea-US free trade agreement represents a tremendous opportunity for the US dairy industry to increase and sustain its growing presence in an extremely important economic region and could mean 10,000 or more additional US jobs across the dairy industry value chain.”

US dairy exports to the Pacific Rim region were up more than 100% in 2010. Korea, in particular, has emerged as an important market for US dairy processors. In 2010, South Korea was the US dairy industry’s sixth-largest export market and imported more than $115 million worth of American dairy products. An International Trade Commission report analyzing the economic effects of the Korea-US FTA found that the dairy industry would be among the industries seeing the largest gains in output and employment. Using 2008 as a base year, dairy exports to Korea would see an increase of up to $336 million, or 478%.

“If Congress fails to act quickly, this tremendous opportunity for market growth will be critically threatened, especially in light of the rapid pace at which Korea has negotiated other FTAs with other dairy exporters, such as the agreement negotiated with the European Union,” IDFA said in its testimony.

Visit www.idfa.org for more information.