U.S. Dairy to Canada
From the Western Ag Network, I’m Bob Larson. Dairy leaders want Canada held accountable under the USMCA while preserving the trade agreement.
Karen Gefvert, Chief Policy Officer at Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, says the industry is actively engaged with federal officials, but Canada must follow through on the dairy access commitments it agreed to under the trade deal …
GEFVERT … “Canada is not upholding the agreement that they set forth to do so in the USMCA signing. So, they've got some dairy commitments that they have not fulfilled. And that does include this TRQ administration. They also agreed to some transparency. And then, the way in which they have pricing set up in Canada.”
Gefvert says both sides need to make this work …
GEFVERT … “So, those components have been disingenuous perhaps might be the way in which to phrase that. So, the messaging to our administration has been: hey, Canada's got to come and uphold the agreement that they signed and we need to do that. We do support the enforcement of the agreement."
Gefvert says the goal is accountability without jeopardizing a critical export relationship …
GEFVERT … "It's really important to keep Canada, hold them accountable, but we can't throw the baby out with the bath water.”
Gefvert says Canada is our second largest trading partner so it’s important to keep the dialogue open and try and make sure U.S. dairy has access to that market.
