With Robert Lighthizer now at work as U.S. trade representative, the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee asked the Trump administration to push for fair trade in ultra-filtered milk sales to Canada. U.S. dairy producers said they have been shut out of sales because Canada changed its milk-pricing system to give an advantage to domestic producers of ultra-filtered milk, a concentrate used in making cheese.
President Trump waded into the issue twice during April, saying “we don’t want to be taken advantage of by other countries.” In a letter to Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts and the committee’s senior Democrat, Debbie Stabenow, said the United States must insist that Canada clearly spell out its policies and that the administration take steps to ensure fair trade. “As the United States considers a renegotiation of NAFTA, it is imperative that America’s hard-working farmers and ranchers remain a top priority,” said Roberts and Stabenow.
A comparatively small amount of revenue, about $102 million, is at stake in the dispute, yet ultra-filtered milk “sits at the center of increasing tensions between the U.S. and Canada over broader trade issues,” said the Wall Street Journal. “If the dispute goes unresolved, some observers say, it could have ripple effects in global dairy markets.” The National Milk Producers Federation says the Canadian price plan could lead to lower prices worldwide for ultra-filtered milk and other milk-protein substances.