In a letter sent last Friday to United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) are requesting the U.S. government prepare a plan to “leverage all available tools” should Colombia move forward with imposing countervailing tariffs on U.S. milk-powder exports.
“The U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement has been a success story for American and Colombian producers and consumers alike,” said Krysta Harden, President and Chief Executive Officer of USDEC. “Initiating unfounded investigations undermines this progress and is a step backward in our trade relationship. We appreciate the Ag Trade Caucus leaders for recognizing this investigation for what it is—baseless. USDEC commends the U.S. interagency team for their extensive work on the ongoing investigation and will continue to work closely with the U.S. government and Congress as the legal process moves forward.”
The letter also noted that imported milk powder products and domestically produced fluid milk are not interchangeable ingredients in a food manufacturing facility.
“Colombia’s recent decision to initiate an unwarranted Subsidies and Countervailing Measures investigation into U.S. exports of milk powder is a tariff threat without merit,” the organizations noted in the letter, explaining that no causal link exists between U.S. milk powder exports and the injury alleged by Colombian officials.
As a press release stated, the two organizations also commended a complementary Congressional letter sent Friday to Colombian Ambassador to the United States Luis Gilberto Murillo in response to the investigation. The letter—led by Reps. Jim Costa, D-CA, Adrian Smith, R-NE, Jimmy Panetta, D-CA, and Dusty Johnson, R-SD—explains that the U.S. and Colombian dairy industries should be working collaboratively to promote policies that strengthen the dairy sector instead of launching “damaging protectionist investigations.”
“NMPF appreciates Representatives Costa, Smith, Panetta and Johnson for standing up for American dairy producers’ market access rights,” said Gregg Doud, President and CEO of NMPF. “We will continue working with the U.S. government to ensure this unsubstantiated investigation doesn’t set a dangerous precedent."
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