Import Clause Introduced on Mercosur Dairy Products
COLOMBIA – A ‘safeguard clause’ has been introduced on South American common market (Mercosur) milk powder imports.
15 January 2013
1 minute read
The Minister, Juan Camilo Restrepo Salazar, said the introduction of the clause was a reaction to exaggerated growth of milk powder imports from Mercosur which rose by 500 per cent, largely thanks to Argentinian productivity.
The safeguard clause is a mechanism, regulated by the World Trade Organisation, which allows trade agreements to be suspended if the agreement is significantly altered. Minister Salazar has said that the measure has been brought in to protect farming families.
The matter had been previously noted by the minister on several occasions in the congress of farmers.
“Oversized imports concerned the Government because of market distortion which in turn depresses raw milk Price for the native producers and consequently generates negative impacts on employment and national production structure,” said Mr Juan Salazar to the farmers congress.
This market protection measure coincides with a 1.2 billion pesos investment plan to develop rural road networks. Targeted at 700 different areas, the road improvement policy hopes to improve farm logistics from field to consumer.
TheCattleSite News Desk
