Source: Chris Scott, MEATINGPLACE, 3/19/15


U.S. Trade Rep. Michael Froman said his agency is working with the New Zealand government with a goal to convince Indonesia to loosen restrictions on a variety of food products brought into the world’s fourth-largest nation.

Froman has officially asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up a dispute settlement panel to examine Indonesia’s import restrictions on such products as meat and poultry and other agricultural goods, like fruits and vegetables. The U.S. agency contends that the import rules in place since 2012 have “unfairly limited opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers” to export their products to what is described as “a large and growing market” in a news release.

USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack also has been working with the U.S. Trade Representative for two years to convince Indonesia to live up to its trade commitments and said his agency supports the call to bring in the WTO. The New Zealand government has joined the U.S. effort calling for a WTO panel to study Indonesia’s import programs.

U.S. exports of the affected animals and animal products to Indonesia topped $63 million in 2014. The figure is about four times lower than the $248 million in goods shipped to the Philippines, which has a similar market but 2.5 times fewer people compared with Indonesia.

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