Members of Congress Insist Canada Comply on Dairy Trade

USDEC President and CEO Tom Vilsack says the United States needs to “hold countries accountable” on trade agreements.

A bipartisan group of 68 members of the House of Representatives have written a letter to President Trump urging him to insist that Canada comply with its dairy trade commitments, including those under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The letter, sent Wednesday, was signed by Reps. Chris Collins (R-NY), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Sean Duffy (R-WI), Ron Kind (D-WI), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Peter Welch (D-VT), among others.

Canada has implemented a new national pricing policy that effectively blocks American dairy exports. Dozens of U.S. dairy farmers in the Midwest recently learned they must find new customers for their milk by May 1, which will cause considerable economic hardship and possibly force some to go out of business. 

“U.S. dairy companies and the workers they employ across rural America compete in global markets on a daily basis. They should reasonably be able to expect that others are also going to play by the rules,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “When our trading partners hold up their end of the bargain—as we have seen Mexico do for dairy—trade benefits our farmers, workers and companies. But to preserve that positive impact, it’s essential that we hold countries accountable when they walk the other direction, too—as Canada has chosen to do on dairy.”

The summary above is based on this USDEC news release.

Learn more:

• Vilsack in the News on NAFTA, Canada's Dairy Pricing Policy
• Dairy, Ag Groups Urge President Trump to Act Immediately to Halt Canada's Continued Disregard of Trade Obligations
• Canada's Dairy Trade Actions Hurting Rural America

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.  .