Trade Panel Rules Canada Unfairly Taxes U.S. Dairy Producers

North Country dairy farmers could soon see a boost in sales to Canadian customers.

A panel of experts found that Canada was unfairly taxing some U.S. dairy products, a violation of the US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement that took effect in 2020.

The ruling is the first trade dispute resolution under the USMCA pact, which wasnegotiated under the Trump Administtration as an update to the Clinton-era North American Free Trade Agreement.

Canada’s dairy market is tightly regulated and domestic producers have long been given preferential status through a system of tarrifs and quotas.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai told Reuters the judgement will allow U.S. dairy farmers to get “full benefit” from the free trade deal and sell their product to Canadian customers.

However, the Canadian fedeal government also claimed the ruling as a victory.