Mulhern, Mooney in Maui to lobby on dairy in TPP
July 28, 2015 |05:57 PM
Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, Randy Mooney, the chairman of NMPF and Dairy Farmers of America Inc., and Jaime Castaneda, NMPF’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives and trade policy, are in Hawaii this week hoping to make sure that the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement gives the U.S. dairy industry more access to Japan and Canada and that New Zealand does not get too big an entry into the U.S. market.
Jim Mulhern
“The key throughout these negotiations is a balanced agreement,” Mulhern said in a telephone interview from Maui late Monday. “We have been pushing very hard to get increased market openings in Japan and Canada.”
The U.S. market opening to New Zealand should not be higher than the increased opportunities for U.S. dairy producers to export to Japan and Canada, he added.
“It is a very fluid, dynamic situation so far,” Mulhern said. “I hope by the end of the week the Japan and Canada situation is much clearer if not resolved.”
The negotiations are behind closed doors, but U.S. negotiators led by Darci Vetter, the U.S. chief agriculture negotiator, are meeting with U.S. agriculture industry representatives as needed, he said.
“It is clear that all parties in the TPP would like to get a final agreement this week. Whether that is achievable or not obviously will depend on how discussions go this week,” Mulhern said, adding that there are a number of issues at play, including access for U.S. rice and nonagricultural issues.
Canada with its supply management system on dairy “has been practically impenetrable,” he said, while the issue in Japan is high tariffs.
New Zealand, which exports most of its dairy production, has been an ally in trying to convince Canada and Japan to open their markets, Mulhern said.
Negotiators have already made progress on reducing sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to U.S. exports, Mulhern said, but the situation on increased access to the Japanese and Canadian markets is still unclear. The U.S. dairy industry had proposed the elimination of all dairy tariffs in all TPP countries, but has accepted that all tariffs will not be eliminated, he added.
The levels of market access will be the same for all 12 TPP countries, Mulhern said, but two of the larger developing countries, Vietnam and Malaysia, already have low tariffs and are “not huge, but positive markets.”
Another issue which the U.S. dairy industry hopes to see finalized is language that would put some limits on the European Union’s ability to convince Asian countries to include “geographical indicator” requirements in any bilateral agreements the EU writes with Asian countries, Mulhern said.
Geographical indicator rules say that certain place names such as Champagne for sparkling wine, Parma for ham and the names of some cheeses can only be used by producers in the areas where those products originated.
If the European countries convince the Asian countries to add geographic indicator language into their trade rules, U.S., Australian and New Zealand makers of products with the same names would not be able to export those products to the Asian countries, Mulhern said.
Canada, in its free-trade agreement with the European Union, included geographic indicator language that will make it difficult for U.S. cheesemakers to export some of their products to Canada even if they gain market access, he said.
“That is a precedent that we want to make sure doesn’t happen elsewhere,” he added.
Mulhern also praised the 22 senators who wrote Trade Representative Michael Froman last week asking for his support for “ensuring the domestic dairy industry gains significant market access benefits across all products” in the TPP.
“We have been heartened by the strong support from Capitol Hill,” Mulhern said.
Randy Mooney
The 22 senators also urged Froman to be careful about New Zealand, particularly if Japan and Canada won't give much access on dairy.
“New Zealand exports 95 percent of its dairy products,” they wrote. “If our diary industry does not achieve comparable export gains in Japan and Canada as compared to those made by New Zealand into the United States, we are concerned that TPP could damage our industry’s current export opportunities and domestic market share.”
Noting that U.S. dairy exports have been increasing, Mooney said dairy farmers believe they can compete under a balanced agreement.
“We actually believe we will get a fair deal, but we want to make sure we get that outcome,” Mooney concluded.
“The key throughout these negotiations is a balanced agreement,” Mulhern said in a telephone interview from Maui late Monday. “We have been pushing very hard to get increased market openings in Japan and Canada.”
The U.S. market opening to New Zealand should not be higher than the increased opportunities for U.S. dairy producers to export to Japan and Canada, he added.
“It is a very fluid, dynamic situation so far,” Mulhern said. “I hope by the end of the week the Japan and Canada situation is much clearer if not resolved.”
The negotiations are behind closed doors, but U.S. negotiators led by Darci Vetter, the U.S. chief agriculture negotiator, are meeting with U.S. agriculture industry representatives as needed, he said.
“It is clear that all parties in the TPP would like to get a final agreement this week. Whether that is achievable or not obviously will depend on how discussions go this week,” Mulhern said, adding that there are a number of issues at play, including access for U.S. rice and nonagricultural issues.
Canada with its supply management system on dairy “has been practically impenetrable,” he said, while the issue in Japan is high tariffs.
New Zealand, which exports most of its dairy production, has been an ally in trying to convince Canada and Japan to open their markets, Mulhern said.
Negotiators have already made progress on reducing sanitary and phytosanitary barriers to U.S. exports, Mulhern said, but the situation on increased access to the Japanese and Canadian markets is still unclear. The U.S. dairy industry had proposed the elimination of all dairy tariffs in all TPP countries, but has accepted that all tariffs will not be eliminated, he added.
The levels of market access will be the same for all 12 TPP countries, Mulhern said, but two of the larger developing countries, Vietnam and Malaysia, already have low tariffs and are “not huge, but positive markets.”
Another issue which the U.S. dairy industry hopes to see finalized is language that would put some limits on the European Union’s ability to convince Asian countries to include “geographical indicator” requirements in any bilateral agreements the EU writes with Asian countries, Mulhern said.
Geographical indicator rules say that certain place names such as Champagne for sparkling wine, Parma for ham and the names of some cheeses can only be used by producers in the areas where those products originated.
If the European countries convince the Asian countries to add geographic indicator language into their trade rules, U.S., Australian and New Zealand makers of products with the same names would not be able to export those products to the Asian countries, Mulhern said.
Canada, in its free-trade agreement with the European Union, included geographic indicator language that will make it difficult for U.S. cheesemakers to export some of their products to Canada even if they gain market access, he said.
“That is a precedent that we want to make sure doesn’t happen elsewhere,” he added.
Mulhern also praised the 22 senators who wrote Trade Representative Michael Froman last week asking for his support for “ensuring the domestic dairy industry gains significant market access benefits across all products” in the TPP.
“We have been heartened by the strong support from Capitol Hill,” Mulhern said.
The 22 senators also urged Froman to be careful about New Zealand, particularly if Japan and Canada won't give much access on dairy.
“New Zealand exports 95 percent of its dairy products,” they wrote. “If our diary industry does not achieve comparable export gains in Japan and Canada as compared to those made by New Zealand into the United States, we are concerned that TPP could damage our industry’s current export opportunities and domestic market share.”
Noting that U.S. dairy exports have been increasing, Mooney said dairy farmers believe they can compete under a balanced agreement.
“We actually believe we will get a fair deal, but we want to make sure we get that outcome,” Mooney concluded.
