Area dairy farmers and manufacturers will have a better chance to tap into Canadian markets, Rep. Tom Reed, R-23, said last Wednesday as he reported the nation’s top trade official is working with Congress to uphold a recent ruling on trade violations.
The Corning Republican said during his weekly press call that he had just left a Ways and Means committee hearing with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. While much of the hearing focused on Russia and China, Reed queried Tai on a December settlement panel declaring Canada has violated the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement in regards to dairy tariffs.
Canada had reserved most of the in-quota quantity in its dairy tariff-rate quotas for the exclusive use of Canadian processors and for “future processors,” the panel found. A tariff-rate quota, the USTR’s office reported, sets a lower duty rate to “in-quota” quantities of imported milk products. By setting aside almost all of its quota for Canadian processors — rather than finished products from American processors — the panel found Canada violated the treaty by limiting competition from American processors such as Great Lakes Cheese in Cuba, Saputo in Friendship and HP Hood in Arkport.
U.S. exports to Canada totaled $78 million in the first 10 months of 2021, the USTR’s office reported in January during a statement on the dispute. Canada is the third-largest importer of American dairy products.
Reed said during the hearing that Canada has not taken steps to comply with the December ruling, and urged Tai to push the issue.
“What I see is an opportunity with this first case under the USMCA — to say ‘enough is enough’, that when we enter into trade agreements that it’s not just a piece of paper,” Reed said. “There are obligations that come with that agreement, and you can’t play games with it.
“I’m very disappointed in how they’ve handled dairy access,” Reed added, calling on the USTR’s office to continue on ensuring Canada allows fair competition in its dairy markets for the region’s manufacturers and dairy farmers.
“I’m 100% in agreement with the way you look at this issue,” Tai said, noting the issue has been a concern for decades. “I think that there was a clear understanding on our side that dairy market access would be improved under the USMCA — and we have not seen that.
“From a USTR perspective, we will not give up. We will continue to work with stakeholders,” Tai said, adding she hopes to continue working with Congress on enforcement.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly milk production report for the Northeast, milk production in New York during February 2022 totaled 1.18 billion pounds. Farmers received an average of $24.70 per hundredweight — around 4.75 gallons of milk, according to the USDA — up $7.60 from January 2021. That adds up to about $29 billion for milk producers, not including the economic impact of cheese and other dairy product manufacturing across the state.
The state is roughly tied with cattle-heavy Texas for the fourth-largest producer of milk in the nation.
Source: fltimes.com
