Monday, October 1, 2018

U.S. dairy industry likes the trade deal

American dairy farmers and processors generally like the new trade deal with Canada, but not so much their Canadian counterparts.

Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation said “this agreement, when implemented, should give us additional marketing opportunities that will allow us to provide high-quality American dairy products to Canada, which means we’ve made incremental progress.” 

 “We appreciate that the Trump Administration continually raised the profile of our issues at the negotiating table.”

The International Dairy Foods Association, speaking for processors, said “maintaining dairy market access in Mexico and improving market access into Canada were IDFA’s top priorities during the talks

Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the IDFA, said. “this new agreement will preserve our vital partnership with both countries and allow the U.S. dairy industry to seek more export opportunities.”

“The outlines of the NAFTA pact remain intact, which will allow the U.S. agricultural sector to continue developing new international markets for our farmers,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC.
 “We also need to pursue new free trade agreements with other nations and resolve our trade conflicts with China. It is imperative that the United States remains an integral player in driving the global trade agenda.”

But in Canada, Pierre Lampron of Dairy Farmers of Canada said “this has happened, despite assurances that our government would not sign a bad deal for Canadians.

“We fail to see how this deal can be good for the 220,000 Canadian families that depend on dairy for their livelihood.”“Maintaining dairy market access in Mexico and improving market access into Canada were IDFA’s top priorities during the talks to modernize NAFTA,” adds Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). “This new agreement will preserve our vital partnership with both countries and allow the U.S. dairy industry to seek more export opportunities.”
“The outlines of the NAFTA pact remain intact, which will allow the U.S. agricultural sector to continue developing new international markets for our farmers,” says Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “We also need to pursue new free trade agreements with other nations and resolve our trade conflicts with China. It is imperative that the United States remains an integral player in driving the global trade agenda.”