Contact:
Marti Pupillo
mpupillo@idfa.org
(202) 220-3535 

(Washington, D.C. – January 21, 2015)  The International Dairy Foods Association, representing 550 dairy foods companies and their suppliers, issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address last night:

“We’re encouraged that the President’s call to pass legislation to reauthorize Trade Promotion Authority was welcomed with bipartisan support by many members of Congress. A strong, bipartisan focus on modernizing TPA will have a tremendous, positive impact on the country’s economic growth and job creation.

“American businesses and their workers can compete against anyone else in the world when given the opportunity. The U.S. dairy industry in particular has the potential to benefit greatly from two trade agreements currently undergoing negotiations – the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Trade Promotion Authority is an important tool for getting those agreements through Congress and ensuring that the United States has the opportunity to connect U.S. companies and their products with consumers around the globe.”

For more information on the importance of enacting a modernized TPA to help support U.S. growth and jobs, visit www.tradebenefitsamerica.org. IDFA is a member of the Trade Benefits America Coalition.

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.

The Trade Benefits America Coalition includes a wide range of associations and companies that are dedicated to the pursuit of U.S. international trade agreements that benefit American businesses, farmers, workers, and consumers. The Coalition believes that passage of modernized Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation is important to help ensure America continues to benefit from trade.