The National Milk Producers Federation says the temporary, short-term lifting of restrictions on infant formula imports to address the rare infant formula shortage is a positive move to fill the supply gap.
“We did not oppose the just-passed Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act given its targeted volume and limited time frame,” says NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern.
“Those guardrails are necessary to ensure that imports temporarily complement U.S. supplies rather than displace existing available dairy formula ingredients.”
However, Mulhern says his group “emphatically” opposes efforts that would create long-term dependence on foreign suppliers for a critical nutritional food. “The focus must be to develop additional production in the U.S. necessary to ensure that this crisis isn’t repeated,” Mulhern adds.
“As COVID taught us, only a robust domestic supply chain with American workers and U.S. sources of production can best protect families from disruptions of critically-needed products.”