Columbia accuses U.S. of subsidizing milk powder exports

U.S. milk powder is being targeted for countervailing tariffs by the South American government of Columbia, which claims U.S. milk powders are subsidized by the government. Shawna Morris with the U.S. Dairy Export Council tells Brownfield there’s no basis for Columbia’s complaint. “In a word, politics. It’s as simple as that.” Morris says a similar effort was made by Columbia’s dairy industry before, but this time, it’s the government that has issued the notice. “It means that the other country is alleging that there are subsidies by the exporting party that are making the product being exported, so in this case, U.S. milk powder cheaper than it should be. That is, of course, baseless. There is absolutely no foundation to these arguments.” Morris says no U.S. milk powder products receive government subsidies. She says Columbia launched this case in mid-July, and set a mid-August deadline to file counter-arguments. “The U.S. Dairy Export Council, National Milk Producers ...