Sen. Franken on U.S.-New Zealand Dairy Trade

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Trans-Pacific Partnership Meetings Need To Consider Minnesota Dairy Farmers

Washington, D.C. -- Mar 12, 2010 – Today, U.S. Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) urged Ambassador Ron Kirk, the U.S. Trade Representative, to pay careful attention to the concerns of dairy farmers in the upcoming meetings with the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Sen. Franken joined 29 of his colleagues, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), in a letter to Ambassador Kirk outlining the potentially devastating effect of phasing out trade restrictions with New Zealand.

“Minnesotan farmers are already facing record low dairy prices because of the economic crisis,” said Sen. Franken. “Now is not the time to open the U.S. market to the monopolized New Zealand milk industry, which would hurt farmers and jeopardize Minnesota agriculture.”

New Zealand’s dairy industry is dominated by one company that controls more than 90 percent of the country’s milk production and approximately 40 percent of trade in key internationally traded dairy commodities. U.S. dairy farmers stand to lose up to $20 billion in the first decade if restrictions on New Zealand’s dairy exports are fully phased out.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a potential platform for economic integration across the Asia Pacific region. The U.S. will engage with an initial group of seven like-minded countries, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Brunei, Australia, Peru, and Vietnam, to craft a platform for a high-standard, comprehensive agreement - one that reflects U.S. priorities and values - with these and additional Asia-Pacific partners.

The letter can be found here: http://franken.senate.gov/files/letter/100312_Letter_to_Ron_Kirk.pdf

Source: Senator Al Franken