President Barack Obama’s decision last week to restrict Chinese tire imports could spill over into dairy, says Clay Hough, International Dairy Federation Association (IDFA) manager of international affairs.
“President Obama’s mandated tariffs impose duties at a slightly lower rate than the International Trade Commission’s recommendations, but the trade ramifications and protectionist implications are still potentially dangerous for IDFA and its members,” says Hough.
The response from the Chinese has already implicated U.S. poultry exports to China, and IDFA remains concerned dairy products could be vulnerable to retaliation. For the full IDFA release, go to: www.idfa.org/news/stories/2009/09/china_0914.cfm
Others in the U.S. dairy industry have called for similar restrictions on milk protein concentrate (MPC) imports into the United States. But because such imports are legal under current World Trade Organization agreements, some worry MPC exporting countries could take similar retaliatory actions against the United States if MPC were restricted.
