FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Peggy Armstrong
(202) 220-3508
parmstrong@idfa.org

  By Michael Dykes, D.V.M., President and CEO of IDFA

(Washington, D.C. – October 24, 2017) The International Dairy Foods Association released the following statement by Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, regarding the confirmation of Gregg Doud as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s chief agricultural negotiator.

“We are pleased that Gregg Doud was confirmed today as the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) chief agricultural negotiator. I worked with Gregg on the Ag Roundtable, when he served as a senior staffer for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and as a staffer with the Senate Agriculture Committee under Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), and I know that he will work both with us and for us.

“Ambassador Lighthizer has pledged that agriculture ‘will be front and center’ in any trade deal the U.S. negotiates, including the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). I can’t think of a better person than Gregg Doud to be on those front lines.

“We welcome Gregg’s experience and expertise as the United States works to preserve the critically important dairy export market in Mexico, increase meaningful market access in Canada and initiate bilateral trade agreements with Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and other markets in the Asia Pacific Region.”

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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 nearly 525 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 operate more than 600 manufacturing facilities 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 at www.idfa.org.