The U.S. hasn't always gotten the best deal when negotiating trade agreements with other countries.  While I favor the concept of free trade, this does not mean that we should "give away the store" to get it.  We must have trade agreements that are fair to American workers and businesses.

 The United States maintains tariff rate quotas on many dairy products as part of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  But milk protein concentrate (MPC) imports were so small prior to 1994 that no restrictions were included in the GATT.  Today, the U.S. imports nearly 200 million pounds of MPC annually, up from 50 million pounds in the mid-1990's.  The National Milk Producers Federation estimates that American farmers have lost more than $1.2 billion in 2000-2002 alone because of these imports. 

HR 1160, which has the strong support of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, would apply the same tariff rate quotas currently placed on related dairy products like skim milk powder to MPC in order to "level the playing field."  Some have mentioned that domestic nonfat dry milk is not truly interchangeable with MPC in the processes in which Kraft uses MPC.  While this is one case where there may not be perfect substitutes, in many cases MPC is replacing domestically-produced dairy proteins. 

As this bill makes its way through the legislative process, I will keep an open mind and do my best to balance the concerns of farmers with the needs of businesses.