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(Washington, D.C. — April 10, 2007) The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) applauded the efforts of the U.S. Trade Representative in completing the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement last week, calling the deal the most commercially significant free trade agreement for the United States in over a decade. The Republic of Korea represents the seventh largest market for U.S. dairy imports, which reached $65 million last year, an increase of 11% over 2005. U.S. dairy exports to Korea have doubled in the past six years despite the existing tariff rate quotas and tariffs of 20% or more. "We have not seen the details of the agreement, but we understand that dairy products, including cheese, whey and yogurt, will have expanded duty-free market access through tariff rate quotas," said Clay Hough, IDFA senior vice president. "Our members look forward to more opportunities to participate in the growing South Korean market, and we support swift congressional approval of the agreement." The Republic of Korea is the world's tenth largest economy with a gross domestic product of nearly $1 trillion.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, DC, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 530 companies representing a $90-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 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org
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