USTR praises new International Coffee Agreement

USTR praises new International Coffee Agreement The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative called the recent conclusion of a new International Coffee Agreement successful.
   This result comes more than decade after the United States left the International Coffee Organization, a group it helped establish in the early 1960s, in opposition to a drive by members to intervene in markets to set an international coffee price. The United States rejoined in early 2005.
   According to the USTR, the United States has “stressed the need for structural and operational reforms to create new relevancy for the organization and provide an example of the potential role of international commodity organizations in facilitating international trade and sustainable development in economic, social and environmental terms and in a manner consistent with market principles.”
   Renegotiation of the new agreement started in January and concluded at the late September meeting of the International Coffee Council in London.
   The new agreement will provide more “meaningful market information and market transparency, and ensure that the organization plays a unique role in developing innovative and effective capacity building in the coffee sector,” the USTR said in a statement Tuesday.
   The new agreement also for the first time introduces measures to promote the development and sharing of best practices that can enable coffee producers to better manage financial volatility in the market.
   This is the seventh agreement concluded since the organization’s founding. The 77 country members of the International Coffee Council represent more than 97 percent of the world coffee production and 80 percent of world consumption. Export of coffee is the largest source of foreign exchange for a number of developing countries.