Deciding an issue that has pitted milk producers against dairy processors, the U.S. Customs Service ruled in April that it would not reclassify certain milk protein concentrate (MPC) products and subject them to higher tariffs.
Deciding an issue that has pitted milk producers against dairy processors, the U.S. Customs Service ruled in April that it would not reclassify certain milk protein concentrate (MPC) products and subject them to higher tariffs. The decision was a setback for the National Milk Producers Federation, which has long complained that MPC's slipping into the U.S. through a trade rule loophole has kept milk prices artificially low.
International Dairy Foods Association, praised the decision, calling it a "significant victory for all the food manufacturers who depend on milk proteins to make a wide variety of products and the consumers who enjoy them." IDFA senior vice president Greg Fraser said the Customs Service has always treated MPCs the way Congress intended. But the fight is not over yet. NMPF said it will appeal the ruling to end what it calls the importation of significant quantities of mislabeled foreign dairy proteins into the U.S. without tariffs.