NewsWhore
06-26-2007, 02:20 PM
Jose Alejandro Ayuso of the SemPer Foundation forecast today that the European monopoly on imports will shortly come to an end. "There is no benefit in maintaining the EU-DR protocol on powdered milk if no subsidies are transferred to Dominican children and elderly people," he explains. "Our people should also have access to milk from markets such as Canada, USA, Guatemala and Argentina." This week European importers in the DR warned that the local prices for powdered milk would increase significantly due to the elimination of European Union subsidies. Karl Falkenberg, deputy director general for Trade European Commission and the chief European Union trade negotiator, said at a recent FUNGLODE conference that "if the DR wants to consume milk at better prices and increase consumption per capita from 77 to 150 liters per year, the quota should be eliminated to forge more competitive markets".
Falkenberg also stated that his understanding is that the Dominican Republic seeks to increase milk imports from the European Union to satisfy an increasing local demand, and that the Commission was more than willing to assist in this matter. He recalled that Europe is currently supplying large amounts of high-quality powdered milk, and that they are willing to negotiate increases on the quota. Notwithstanding, he clarified that European suppliers would want to first establish how these import increments would be managed.
Former director for the DR trade negotiations office, Hugo Ramirez Risk has stated that the ideal solution to the "DR-EU milk issue" would be to negotiate a bilateral protocol on this item annexed to the Economic Partnership Agreement CARIFORUM-EU. Several viable legal outcomes have been revised. The next official round of EPA negotiations will take place on July 23-31 in Brussels.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
Falkenberg also stated that his understanding is that the Dominican Republic seeks to increase milk imports from the European Union to satisfy an increasing local demand, and that the Commission was more than willing to assist in this matter. He recalled that Europe is currently supplying large amounts of high-quality powdered milk, and that they are willing to negotiate increases on the quota. Notwithstanding, he clarified that European suppliers would want to first establish how these import increments would be managed.
Former director for the DR trade negotiations office, Hugo Ramirez Risk has stated that the ideal solution to the "DR-EU milk issue" would be to negotiate a bilateral protocol on this item annexed to the Economic Partnership Agreement CARIFORUM-EU. Several viable legal outcomes have been revised. The next official round of EPA negotiations will take place on July 23-31 in Brussels.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)