The U.S. Senate voted last Thursday to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status to Russia, providing the first step in potentially opening the door for many U.S. dairy exports that have been blocked by technical and sanitary barriers. The House of Representatives voted last month to award PNTR status, so the bill now moves to President Obama for signature.

"We welcome this important step toward removing trade barriers to one of the world's largest markets for dairy exports," said Clay Hough, IDFA senior group vice president. "While more work remains to make Russia's PNTR status a complete success for the U.S. dairy industry, we are hopeful that positive progress will continue."

Russia is the world’s 11th largest economy with more than 140 million consumers. According to the President’s Export Council, U.S. exports to Russia could double in the next five years with PNTR in place.

The U.S. dairy industry has effectively been denied access to the Russian market for over two years because it has been unable to comply with requests for dairy certificate statements and facility inspection requirements. The industry believes the Russian requirements are unacceptable because they are not based on sound science.

For more information, contact Hough at chough@idfa.org.