News Milk
Is American dairy disappearing from EU shelves?
Representatives of dairy processors and exporters in the United States fear new rules that the European Union (EU) will introduce. August 21, the EU will introduce stricter import requirements for dairy and processed food.
Dairy industry representatives fear that these additional requirements could decimate exports of dairy products to the EU. The EU spent more than a year revising the package of requirements for the import of dairy and processed food. Last year, the contents of the new package were made transparent.
Measures mainly aimed at animal health
One of the requirements is that dairy farms in the US must be regularly inspected for diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and rinderpest. This and other data about the health of the livestock must then be stored for years, so that a 'health record' of the livestock is created. US representatives call these demands 'intrusive' and also believe that far too much information about the US dairy sector is shared with foreign governments in this way. The requirements would be problematic for livestock farmers in the US and also violate guidelines and regulations as laid down by the World Animal Health Organization.
US exports $100 million to EU
Despite the fact that there are already requirements for imported dairy and import tariffs apply, the United States exports $100 million worth of dairy products to countries in the European Union every year. According to the American dairy producers and exporters, the new rules endanger this export flow.
The consequences extend beyond the direct trade flow. Products destined for third countries, but on their route through the EU, are also affected by the rules. Furthermore, the export of processed food is also affected, even if only a very small part of American dairy is in the product.
Negotiations are underway
An EU spokesperson defends the measures by stating that the EU only wants to continue to guarantee food safety and animal welfare. The American dairy industry finds this implausible, because according to it systems that guarantee food safety and animal health are at a high level in the US. In addition, the registration systems for, for example, foot and mouth disease are much better regulated in the US than in many EU Member States. The US and the EU will remain in talks for the time being to resolve potential problems that would arise from the new rules in a timely manner.
Steve Wissink
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