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Expert says work is underway to lift ag trade barriers in USTR’s report

A dairy trade expert says addressing barriers highlighted in this week’s U.S. Trade Representative report is key to expanding agricultural markets.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council’s Jaime Castaneda tells Brownfield dairy is one of the most regulated and protected sectors globally, which is why it accounts for a large share of ag issues in USTR’s assessment.

“Next steps is for the United States government to continue to negotiate agreements with different countries to prevent those barriers to reappear,” he explains. “Not only that we get rid of them, but it is important that we prevent them from happening again.”

Castaneda says the impact of the European Union’s geographical indication protections alone costs the dairy sector billions of dollars in lost markets.

The report also includes several other agricultural concerns with the EU, including production and animal welfare standards, strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, and restrictions on U.S. aviation biofuels and feedstocks.

Castaneda says since public comments were submitted nearly six months ago, countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Turkey have been working to resolve restrictions.

“The number one element for seeing greater exports in the next 6 to 12 months is the implementation of all the reciprocal trade agreements,” he says.

Ambassador Jamieson Greer says the administration will continue to address the unfair trade practices outlined in the report and advance the best interests of Americans.