Trade ministers from 12 nations concluded five years of negotiations with an agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade bloc covering 40 percent of the global economy. Dairy was one of the final obstacles in a meeting in Atlanta that ran four days longer than planned. Administration officials “argue that many farmers and businesses could benefit greatly from the agreements, especially in markets like Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam, where they face significant trade barriers,” said Politico. “Among the groups of lawmakers who will be taking a close look at the details of the deal will be those from dairy states, who sent letters this week expressing concern about U.S. producers giving up more sales in their home market than they gain in exports under the pact.”
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership still faces months of debate in Congress and will inject a new flash point into both parties’ presidential contests,” said the New York Times. “Final compromises covered commercial protections for drug makers’ advanced medicines, more open markets for dairy products and sugar, and a slow phase-out — over two to three decades — of the tariffs on Japan’s autos sold in North America …. The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the partnership eventually would end more than 18,000 tariffs that the participating countries have placed on United States exports, including autos, machinery, information technology and consumer goods, chemicals and agricultural products ranging from avocados in California to wheat, pork and beef from the Plains states.”
Canada’s supply management system for dairy, which limits imports, was widely viewed as a target in the Atlanta session, with Australia, New Zealand and the United States pressing for market openings. But U.S. restrictions also came into play during the final days. The New York Times said U.S. dairy farmers feared they would not gain as much in overseas opening to nations such as Canada and Japan as they might face in additional competition at home from New Zealand. Canadian dairy farmers said they suffer under a trade agreement with Europe that allows more cheese to be imported so they were wary of new concessions.
Going into the weekend, seven Democrats on the Senate Agriculture Committee sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman warning against undue concessions to New Zealand: “A situation whereby U.S. dairy export interests are not sufficiently addressed while disproportionately high levels of domestic access are granted would be unacceptable.” House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway and 17 members of his committee wrote Froman to oppose further concessions on sugar, to say “more must be done” to open overseas markets to U.S. rice. Conaway’s missive also addressed the dairy situation: “We are also deeply concerned by the lack of movement and transparency with respect to meaningful, balanced market access for our nation’s dairy farmers.”