Dairy Groups Call for Retaliatory Tariffs on Canada Part 1

American dairy groups are calling on the U.S. government to implement retaliatory tariffs on Canada over its dairy policies. The groups say our northern neighbor refuses to meet its signed treaty obligations under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement concerning dairy market access.

National Milk Producers Federation's Senior Vice President for Trade Policy Shawna Morris says the latest revisions to Canada’s tariff-rate quota proposal doesn’t actually change much.

“Canada is saying that's all it needs to do and it should call it a day. We certainly are of a much different view. We've been saying all along this is not enough and that's why we've now called on the U.S. government to move forward with enforcement steps further. And that would mean levying retaliatory tariffs if Canada continues to refuse to comply.”

Although U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsak is hoping it won’t have to go that far, as he’s already spoken to Canada ag leaders and hopes for a change of tune soon.

“But the retaliatory tariffs process isn't a switch, you flip and they're in place overnight. It takes a while to get this going in the US. There's a whole… regulatory process we need to go through to get there. What we're saying is we need to start that process. Absolutely. We fully agree with the secretary that we need to keep talking to Canada.”

“But our stance is these things can happen in parallel with each other. And in the meantime, we should be moving forward. So that we're prepared to Levy those retaliatory, tariffs if Canada keep singing the same song.”

More from Shawna Morris next time…