Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Dairy exporters' report urges President Trump to get a trade deal with Japan to keep it as a prime customer for the U.S.

U.S. dairy producers could lose $1.3 billion in dairy exports to Japan over the next 10 years and $5.4 billion over the next 20 years because it has better trade agreements with other countries, according to a new report sent to Congress and President Trump today. Japan has a treaty with every other major dairy-exporting country, through the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Japan's new trade agreement with the European Union, Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico.

Japan is a plum customer for dairy exporters, since its domestic demand for dairy products is increasing as its own dairy production declines, Lydia Mulvany reports for Bloomberg. The report, commissioned by the U.S. Dairy Export Council, headed by former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, noted that the U.S. saw record dairy exports in 2018 and urged Trump and Congress to aggressively pursue new trade agreements in order to keep Japan as a customer.

Dairy exports are a sorely needed source of revenue for U.S. dairy producers reeling from overproduction, low prices and domestic consumption.

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