Trans Pacific Trade Dairy Details Released, Sort Of
The United States Department of Agriculture released a broad summary , and even generalized state-by state impacts, of the Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement this morning. You can see a summary chart here.
The United States dairy industry will have increased access to Canadian consumers: Tariffs are eliminated for whey and there will be expanded access through duty-free tariff-rate quotas for cheese, fluid milk, butter, milk powder and other products. (Note: Bloomberg reported yesterday that Canada is opening 3.3% of its dairy market over five years.)
Japan’s tariffs on cheese will be eliminated in 16 years and on whey in 21. Quotas were created for whey, butter, milk powder, evaporated and condensed milk.
The agreement is a two-way street. So the United States agreed to eliminate tariffs on milk powder and non-fat dry milk for Australia and New Zealand over 20 to 30 years. Tariffs for Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan were eliminated within 20 years.
USDA notes that U.S. dairy exports to the 11 TPP partners already accounts for over half of U.S. dairy trade. In 2014, the U.S. exported $3.6 billion worth of dairy to these countries, and $3.5 billion to the rest of the world. The TPP includes the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
It’s important to note that Congress must approve the agreement. It will be an up-or-down vote, with no amendments allowed.
