A new trade agreement with Canada will give the U.S. a new tariff rate quota on dairy products and eliminates their Class 6 and 7 milk pricing system.
President Trump says the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement replaces NAFTA and is good for farmers. “The deal includes a substantial increase in our farmers’ opportunities to export American wheat, poultry, eggs, and dairy—including milk, butter, cheese, yogurt and ice cream.”
Zero tariffs on food and ag products under NAFTA will continue.
The National Milk Producers Federation, U.S. Dairy Export Council and International Dairy Foods Association is pleased with the agreement, but urge all three countries to remove tariffs on ag exports – as well as steel and aluminum.
President and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council Tom Vilsack tells Brownfield the deal should reassure markets and strengthen dairy prices. “It will pretty much guarantee we’ll continue to have robust opportunity in Mexico and potentially an expanded opportunity in Canada.”
He says the elimination of Canada’s Class 6 and 7 milk will essentially be replaced with the Class 4 system used by the U.S. “There’s still some lack of complete understanding and clarity about precisely how this is going to be implemented, so we need to keep an eye on it.”
The new NAFTA deal also allows U.S. and Mexican producers to continue using several common cheese and product names.
Source: Brownfield
