The 15^th round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement concluded last week in Auckland, New Zealand. During the round, John Kelly, IDFA director of international affairs, met with a number of negotiators to emphasize the importance of safeguarding the use of common cheese names, providing enforceable provisions that will help prevent and address regulatory trade barriers, and increasing access to the Canadian dairy market.

Kelly networked with a variety of global dairy stakeholders and met colleagues from Australia and New Zealand to discuss issues of mutual interest, including the TPP.

The plural-lateral trade negotiations included Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. This round was the first to include Mexico and Canada, the top two U.S. dairy export markets, which have now joined the negotiations.

“While the transition of Canada and Mexico into the negotiations went smoothly, the negotiations have entered a critical phase where tough decisions will need to be made on sensitive issues, such as dairy market access,” said Kelly. “Canada in particular is likely to resist any additional opening of its dairy market, which is basically closed to imports due to its protectionist supply management system. If the TPP is to be a success, supply management has to go; it’s a backwards policy that is inconsistent with the modern reality of a growing global dairy market.”  

The next round of the TPP negotiations will be held from March 4-13 in Singapore.

For more information, contact Kelly at jkelly@idfa.org.