|
Stay the Course on WTO Goals IDFA Members and Staff Head to Major Trade Ministerial Next Week (Washington, D.C. — December 7, 2005) In a letter sent today to President George W. Bush, 46 dairy industry leaders encouraged the White House to continue to press for meaningful reform of agricultural subsidies within the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round. The executives state in the letter that the U.S. proposal to reignite the WTO negotiations is the right track for the United States to take going into the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial, which starts next week. Issued in October, that proposal calls for the elimination of export subsidies and significant reductions in both domestic farm subsidies and tariffs. The 46 executives lead major U.S. cheese, milk, cultured product and ice cream companies, and industry suppliers -- a group that represents a broad swath of the U.S. dairy industry. The letter with its signatories can be viewed by clicking here. "We urge your Administration to stay this course, and we are committed to supporting you in this important undertaking," the letter to President Bush states. "The WTO agricultural negotiations will have a positive effect on U.S. dairy exports and provide a catalyst for much-needed reform of our domestic dairy policies." IDFA is a long-standing proponent of liberalizing global trade in order to grow overseas markets for U.S. dairy exports. To emphasize the importance of the Doha Round negotiations to the U.S. dairy industry, representatives from several IDFA member companies and IDFA staff will be attending the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial, where they will work with U.S. officials to champion the agricultural reforms outlined in the U.S. proposal. # # #
IDFA is the Washington, DC based organization representing the nation's dairy processing and manufacturing industries and their suppliers. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), National Cheese Institute (NCI) and International Ice Cream Association (IICA). Its 500+ members range from large multinational corporations to single plant operations, and represent more than 85% of the total volume of milk, cultured products, cheese, and ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States an estimated $90 billion a year industry. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.
|
||||
