Many of GAPFA consumer products and the materials used to make them are shipped across national borders each year.

More often than not, moving from one market to another means facing tariff and non-tariff/regulatory roadblocks, including sanitary barriers, that increase costs and even preclude market access.

In short, cross-border trade flows and open markets are critical to the growth of the global pet food industry, already generating almost 100 billion USD in sales annually. This is why GAPFA supports free trade and the rules-based trading system. 

The Global Alliance of Pet Food Associations (GAPFA) is made up of regional and national pet food associations and individual companies that manufacture pet food around the globe. Many of these consumer products and the materials used to make them are shipped across national borders each year. More often than not, moving from one market to another means facing tariff and non-tariff/regulatory roadblocks, including sanitary barriers, that increase costs and even preclude market access.

We believe that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its rules, along with the free trade agreements (FTAs) that supplement them, have contributed to prosperity, growth, and peace since the inception of the global trading system in the aftermath of World War II.

For the global pet food industry, WTO and FTA rules are vital to our freedom to operate, in particular, because they provide for a science-based foundation beneath government regulation.

More generally, free trade has created opportunities for manufacturers, workers, farmers, ranchers, and consumers. It has meant more jobs and access to a wide variety of high quality and affordably-priced products, including ours, which support the health and wellbeing of dogs and cats.

Further, countries that trade internationally develop connections between their peoples and their economies. These cross-ties encourage cooperative political relationships and deter conflict.

In instances when governments disagree on trade policy issues, we urge them to engage constructively toward negotiated solutions, and as necessary, rely on formal dispute settlement procedures, rather than imposing new border restrictions.

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