FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Peggy Armstrong
(202) 220-3508
parmstrong@idfa.org
Statement on International Trade Commission Report on
the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Clay Hough, IDFA Senior Group Vice President and General Counsel
(Washington D.C. – May 20, 2016) The International Dairy Foods Association today released the following statement in response to the International Trade Commission (ITC) report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“We applaud the long-awaited release of the ITC's investigation, which is an important step forward in assessing the benefits of the TPP.
“For dairy foods manufacturers, the TPP generates opportunities to compete on a more level playing field in fast-growing markets around the Pacific Rim. The agreement includes important breakthroughs on geographical indications and fully enforceable sanitary and phytosanitary rules.
“While we still have concerns about implementation and enforcement on a number of critical issues that will determine how the agreement is likely to work in practice, we are encouraged by the positive ITC report, and are hopeful that Senate and House leaders will approve the agreement this year.”
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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. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.