Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was quick to say he’s not a NAFTA negotiator but he repeatedly told reporters during a visit to Prince Edward Island that “it is not our desire to do away with” Canada’s supply management system for dairy – if Canada does a better job of managing the supply. “They can’t use the supply management system to negatively affect our producers south of the border,” said Perdue during a teleconference.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized Canada’s dairy system as an example of unfair trade and the Trump administration included phase-out of supply management for dairy, poultry and eggs as one of its agricultural goals in negotiating the new NAFTA. Perdue met Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay in bilateral talks at MacAulay’s farm on Friday. During a joint news conference, MacAulay said his government was staunchly defending supply management. “It is not the intention of the United States to destroy our supply management at all,” he said.
Perdue said he wanted Canada to manage its dairy supplies so that it does not add to global surpluses. U.S. farm groups complained last year that Canada created a new category in its dairy program to undercut U.S. imports. “I do not think it is in the interests of the United States to try to dictate to Canada regarding how they manage their dairy production here,” Perdue said.