August 24, 2018

US dairy leaders visit China with a trade mission

Dairy delegates from the US travelled to China this week in hopes to promote trade cooperation with official agencies in Beijing and Chinese dairy buyers in Xi'an.

In Beijing, the delegation will discuss the flow of Sino/US dairy business amid months of trade tensions, which led to tariffs imposed on a long list of US exports, including dairy.

Simultaneously, in Xi'an, Tom Vilsack, President and CEO of the US Dairy Export Council (USDEC), will speak to hundreds of Chinese dairy leaders who will be attending the China Industry Association meeting on Saturday.

The visit is taking place while the US dairy industry is struggling under the weight of tariff measures in Mexico and China, with its full implication on the industry only starting to come to light at the end of last month.

Vilsack aired his eagerness to re-establish partnerships with Chinese counterparts that he has worked for two years to develop a robust dairy trade infrastructure. Back in April, Vilsack kicked off a partnership with Jiangnan University that promotes dairy consumption and innovation. In February, he discussed trade relations with China's Vice Minister of Commerce.

"China is a country where the impressive growth in the domestic dairy industry has been complemented by imports of many products that the local industry is not able to produce," Vilsack, who was also the former US Agriculture secretary, said.

He added, "With an abundant supply of milk, US dairy exporters are uniquely equipped to meet growing Chinese demands for a wide range of nutritious, high-quality dairy products that are safely and sustainably produced. This is a partnership that will continue to benefit both countries for years to come."

However, in light of the recent tariff battles between China and the US, shipping US dairy products have proven to become more challenging.

Jaime Castaneda, Senior Vice President of USDEC has assured that both he and other members of the US delegation will continue to meet with government representatives from both countries to discuss and review the repercussions of the tariffs on dairy trade.

"China is one of our most important export markets and growth there has been unparalleled in recent years. Slowing that momentum is hurting farmers and manufacturers in the US and consumers in China. Chinese consumers have shown that they want US dairy goods, and we need to continue to expand sales to help combat falling prices at home," Castaneda reiterated.

China is a large and growing market for US dairy, importing US$577 million from US suppliers in 2017, an increase of 49% as compared to 2016.

In July, China imposed 25% tariffs on most of US dairy products, in response to new US tariffs announced on Chinese goods. Since then, China has threatened to continue increasing those dairy tariffs if the trade dispute continues.

As a countermeasure and reduce its impact on the US dairy industry, the USDEC has outlined a plan as the two nations continue to work through their broader trade differences, which includes quickly approving US companies that have registered export products to China, removing dairy from retaliatory tariffs and approving technical regulations to facilitate the sale of US whey permeate as a food product in China.

From China, Vilsack and his team will then travel to Seoul for meetings on Monday with South Korean dairy leaders.
 

Source: Global News Wire