Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee urge the U.S. Trade Representative to hold Canada accountable under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Senators Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, and John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, say Canada is obligated by USMCA to provide market access to American dairy farmers. Despite numerous rounds of consultation and an initial dispute settlement panel ruling in January 2022, Canada continues to reserve parts of its tariff-rate quota allocations for domestic processors, undermining importers’ market access.
In a letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai, the Senators call on USTR to initiate a second dispute settlement panel to hold Canada accountable to its market access obligations to American dairy farmers. There has been no improvement in Canada’s TRQ administration despite the USTR’s continued engagement.
The Senators write, “To bring Canada into compliance with its commitments to U.S. dairy producers, we urge USTR to move forward with a second dispute settlement case to implement USMCA’s dairy provisions fully and properly to increase U.S. dairy market access.”
