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Alliance Calls on Congress to Oppose Dairy Import Assessment An alliance of 23 companies and trade organizations in the food industry recently urged the Senate Agriculture Committee to omit language from its version of the Farm Bill that would enforce the implementation of an assessment on imported dairy products. Alliance members, including IDFA, believe the assessment would impose an unfair tax on some dairy farmers and imported dairy products, and could even provoke retaliation among U.S. international trading partners.The 2002 Farm Bill included a dairy import assessment to help fund the National Dairy Promotion & Research Program, but the assessment was never implemented, because it violates a number of World Trade Organization rules. The Farm Bill version recently passed by the U.S. House included language attempting to address some of these trade concerns, but fundamental trade compliance issues remain. The House bill also delays implementation of the assessment for existing contracts until one year after the enactment of the 2007 Farm Bill. Currently, dairy farmers in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are exempt from the promotion assessment, but they would be required to participate if the assessment was implemented. Imported dairy products, including ingredients that are used in a variety of non-dairy products, such as frozen pizza, snack foods and weight-loss beverages, would also be subject to the new tax. In a letter to Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), ranking member, the Alliance for Fair Dairy Promotion stressed its opposition to tacking on additional costs to domestic and imported dairy products. "There are no meaningful benefits that imported dairy products can derive from the generic domestic dairy promotion program," the letter states. "The implementation of the assessment may invite similar actions by our trading partners against now rising U.S. dairy exports." The alliance also warns that imposing new costs on milk from Alaska and Hawaii, each with a fragile local dairy industry, could have devastating effects. In August, nine senators sent letters to Sen. Harkin, asking him not to include the assessment in the Farm Bill. The Senate Agriculture Committee currently is crafting its version of the Farm Bill and expects to present it to the full Senate sometime after the week-long Columbus Day recess. To read the alliance's press release and letter, click here.
Posted October 8, 2007
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