Senate Ag Committee Leaders Urge USTR To Hold Canada Accountable To Obligation To American Dairy

 U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking member, urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to hold Canada accountable to its obligation to provide market access to American dairy farmers under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). 

Despite numerous rounds of consultation and an initial dispute settlement panel ruling in January 2022, Canada continues to reserve parts of its tariff-rate quota allocations (TRQs) for domestic processors, undermining importers’ market access.  In a letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai, the senators call on USTR to initiate a second dispute settlement panel to hold Canada accountable to its market access obligations to American dairy farmers.  

The senators write: “There has been no improvement in Canada’s TRQ administration despite the USTR’s continued engagement.  To bring Canada into compliance with its commitments to U.S. dairy producers, we urge USTR to move forward with a second dispute settlement case to implement USMCA’s dairy provisions fully and properly to increase U.S. dairy market access.”