In response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s release of the 2022 Trade Policy Agenda today, USDEC and NMPF released the following statements.
Krysta Harden, U.S. Dairy Export Council president & CEO:
Last year dairy exports reached a record $7.75 billion – sales that support dairy farming and manufacturing jobs all across America. We thank the Administration for its efforts to help U.S. agriculture. Yet to remain competitive as other countries pull ahead with trade agreements, we cannot forget the pursuit of them ourselves. Comprehensive free trade agreements are a cornerstone of trade policy for U.S. exporters and must not be left on the cutting room floor in 2022. Today, milk from one in six trucks leaving American dairy farms ends up in products and ingredients sold overseas – largely as a result of such free trade agreements. We look forward to working closely with the Administration on the outlined Trade Policy Agenda and believe additional trade negotiations would strengthen it further.
Jim Mulhern, National Milk Producers Federation president & CEO:
U.S. trade policy is a three-legged stool. USTR’s 2022 Trade Policy Agenda prioritizes two important legs: enforceable commitments from our trading partners and forward-leaning trade strategies to uproot barriers to U.S. products. Yet comprehensive trade agreements – the most powerful weapon in our trade arsenal – remain missing from this forecast. We are thankful for the exceptional dedication of USTR in representing American interests and look forward to partnering with them on the areas outlined in today’s Trade Policy Agenda including the continued focus on ensuring Canada abides by its U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement commitments. To most effectively fight for American dairy farmers, manufacturers and workers, however, we must build on those efforts by using the full suite of trade policy tools to tackle market access barriers to American-made products.
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