Ag Groups Reject Canada’s Dairy Proposal

The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Council rejected a proposal from Canada regarding U.S. access to its dairy markets. The organizations said Global Affairs Canada outlined changes last week to their current scheme for allocating USMCA dairy tariff-rate-quotas. In January, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced it had won USMCA’s first-ever dispute settlement panel with Canada regarding dairy market access for U.S. farmers.

“Enough is enough,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “U.S. dairy producers are sick and tired of Canada’s game playing on dairy market access.”

As the first case decided under USMCA, the U.S.-Canada dairy TRQ panel is a test case for whether the USMCA dispute settlement process can provide effective enforcement and deliver genuine compliance with the agreement.

“Canada is trying to see how little will get demanded from them, so it’s essential that the U.S. insist on real reforms,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC.

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