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Keeping the pressure on the US at the fieldays

Rural News
Keeping the pressure on the US at the fieldays

The reintroduction of dairy export subsidies by the US is a warning to the European Union and should not be seen as a threat by NZ and Australian exporters, says acting US ambassador David Keegan reports The Waikato Times. Mr Keegan, who was hounded by farmers at Fieldays yesterday over the US Government's decision last month to subsidise about 92,000 tonnes of dairy exports, said the US had been left with no other option after the EU undercut US dairy manufacturers when it introduced subsidies on butter, cheese and skim milk powder in January. The US Department of Agriculture was committed to using subsidies only where it directly competed against the EU, and would not try to take a stronghold in regions such as Asia, where NZ and Australian dairy exports led the market, he said. "At this point, what we want to do is get a fair, competitive market. This is not a situation we wanted to happen, and it's a situation we would like to see end as soon as possible." Irish ambassador Mairtin O'Fainin, whose country benefits from the EU subsidies, defended the EU's decision, saying it was a reflection of international dairy prices reaching a 10-year low. He was confident that the EU would lift the subsidies once the global economy recovered, and said America's subsidies for its agricultural exports were stronger. "I don't see (the subsidies) in any way as doing damage to NZ."

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