downtoearth-subscribe

GATT goes sour

The US dairy industry is having second thoughts about the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Jim Bar, the head of the National Milk Producers' Federation, has complained that GATT, as currently structured, is a net loss to North American dairy producers, in a letter to US diminutive but combative trade representative Mickey Kantor. According to Bar, the new market access for foreign dairy products would displace domestic products. Bar and his colleagues are willing to go along with GATT rules only if 6 special provisions are added. These include full federal funding for the Dairy Export Incentive Programme and passing legislation to create a dairy industry market development and export board.