Canada prevails over U.S. in dairy dispute
A USMCA dispute panel rejected U.S. charges that Canada bent the rules to unfairly restrict American sales in its dairy market despite agreeing in the free trade agreement to grant more access. "This is good news for Canada's dairy industry and our system of supply management," said Trade Minister Mary Ng and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAuley in a statement.
Baby formula industry was primed for disaster long before key factory closed down
The closure of the Similac factory may have lit the fuse for the nationwide shortage, but a combination of government policy, industry market concentration and supply chain issues supplied the powder.(No paywall)
Canadian dairy quotas violate USMCA terms, dispute panel rules
In the first decision under the new North America trade pact, a three-judge dispute settlement panel ruled that Canada had manipulated its tariff-rate quotas to limit imports of U.S. dairy products, despite agreeing to greater U.S. access in the 2020 agreement. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the ruling was a signal of U.S. resolve against unjustified trade restrictions anywhere.
Dairy likely to highlight USMCA consultations
Trade ministers from Canada, Mexico and the United States are scheduled to confer digitally on Monday and Tuesday in the first meeting of the USMCA's Fair Trade Commission, with dairy expected to be the hot topic. U.S. dairy groups called on Sunday for the Biden administration to escalate an ongoing complaint against Canadian dairy quotas unless this week's meeting produces results.
Farmers, advocates concerned about Vilsack’s record on dairy issues
Some dairy farmers and advocates are worried that president-elect Joe Biden's pick for agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, will do little to address their concerns about issues like consolidation, farm bankruptcies and low milk prices. Critics are especially concerned about how Vilsack’s years running a dairy industry trade group will affect his policymaking approach.(No paywall)
FDA: Coronavirus disrupts supply chain for U.S. animal drugs
Six firms are seeing disruptions in the supply chain because of Covid-19 that could lead to shortages of animal drugs for the U.S. market, said the FDA in an update. Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said USDA animal scientists are "looking for any kind of possibility, even vaccines, that may help" against the viral disease.
Sanders calls for ag trust-busters, large government role in farming
Fundamental change in U.S. agricultural and rural policy is "an absolute necessity," said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday in calling for Teddy "Roosevelt-style trust-busting laws to stop monopolization of markets and break up massive agribusinesses." In a position paper, Sanders, pursuing the Democratic nomination for president, endorsed supply management — federal control over farm production — higher minimum prices for major commodities such as grain and milk and a return to a government-owned grain reserve "to alleviate the need for government subsidies and ensure we have a food supply in case of extreme weather events."
‘Dairy was a deal-breaker’ in writing NAFTA’s successor, says president
President Trump veered between predicting easy approval of the new Canada-Mexico-U.S. trade agreement and expressing concerns about opposition to the pact on Monday while declaring that the agreement “is a very, very big deal for our farmers.”
Canada to eliminate Class 7 barrier, allow more U.S. access to dairy market
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement that will succeed NAFTA includes the elimination of Canada’s Class 7 dairy price system and greater U.S. access to the Canadian dairy market than offered in the TPP free trade agreement, said senior administration officials late Sunday.
Canada needs ‘flexibility’ on dairy in NAFTA bargaining, says Mulroney
Amid rumors that Canada will offer concessions on dairy trade, former prime minister Brian Mulroney said he would be surprised if the new NAFTA did not include "flexibility" on the country's supply management system. Agriculture is a small part of NAFTA trade but it is a stubborn impediment in U.S.-Canada negotiations.
To get NAFTA, Canada must drop Class 7 dairy scheme, says Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described a potential tri-national agreement on a new NAFTA as the start of a domino effect in rewriting U.S. relations with trading partners around world. "I would love to have a deal today with Canada to put NAFTA back together," said Perdue during a C-SPAN interview in which he called for reform of Canada's supply-management system."
Dairy is the big farm issue for NAFTA, says Perdue
Dairy is not the only agricultural dispute between the United States and Canada, but it is the biggest one, according to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Senior U.S. officials say the new NAFTA must include greater U.S. dairy access to Canada.
Trudeau says Canada won’t yield on dairy system
With negotiators facing an informal deadline of Friday for agreement on the new NAFTA, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will reject U.S. proposals to dismantle its supply management system, said Canadian Press on Wednesday.
Canada expects to be back soon at NAFTA negotiations
The three-corner negotiations for the new NAFTA have looked bilateral for a few weeks, because the United States has been meeting with Mexico. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada expects to return to the talks very soon. Agriculture has been a stubborn and often over-looked issue for the nations. The Trump administration reportedly dropped a proposal for seasonal restrictions on imports of Mexican produce.
Trump: ‘We’re getting there’ on NAFTA
Even as he continued to blast Canadian dairy tariffs, President Trump said on Tuesday that “we’re getting there” in negotiations for the new NAFTA.
What comes after ‘Got Milk?’ It’s ‘Got Jobs?’
The U.S. dairy industry launched the “Got Jobs?” campaign on Monday to highlight the importance of the dairy sector and build support for dairy exports, which account for about 14 percent of U.S. milk production.
Farmers increasingly look to supply management to steady U.S. agriculture
With a trade war looming, commodity prices swooning, and the dairy industry in full-blown crisis, a growing number of American farmers are embracing a controversial set of farm policies that would manage the country’s commodity production and stabilize crop prices. No paywall
Perdue forecasts peaceful, successful end to trade conflicts
President Trump is a maverick when it comes to international relations, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday while assuring farm-state senators that successful negotiations would resolve the threat of a trade war.