The United States and Mexico have resumed talks this week to try to find solutions to the outstanding bilateral issues within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canada has not been party to these recent talks.
Movement on U.S.-Mexico issues remains slow. Yet even once there is consensus, the United States will still have to find solutions to address the U.S. and Canadian differences. President Trump has repeatedly called for the end of Canada’s protectionist dairy policies. As such, Class 7 pricing in Canada will likely be at the center of the discussion when the United States and Canada eventually meet.
Negotiators are also putting off talks on a “sunset clause.” The sunset language would require all three countries to convene every five years to re-approve the agreement or it would be automatically nullified. Canada and Mexico have objected to a NAFTA that includes this stipulation.
IDFA continues to work closely with the administration during these negotiations to ensure market access will be maintained in Mexico and Canada’s Class 7 pricing program, which dumps milk powder on the world market, is eliminated.
Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, serves as a cleared advisor to U.S. negotiators advocating for solutions to NAFTA that address the issues most important to the U.S. dairy industry.
Source:www.idfa.org
