Lawmakers recently heard from several agricultural industry members about the reasons that the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) needs to be ratified quickly. President and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Tom Vilsack was among those who testified before the Senate Finance Committee expressing to lawmakers the importance of the USMCA to the dairy industry.
“It preserves our duty-free access to our number one market, Mexico. It increases market access to our Canadian market that has been limited for far too long, by increasing our trade quotas in cheese, skim milk powder, whey, butter and other dairy products,” Vilsack noted.
According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the USMCA will provide the dairy industry with an additional $314 million annually. “It removes and reforms key trade distorting Canadian pricing policies, repealing Class 6 and 7 pricing policies and imposing more trade friendly discipline on the Canadian supply management system. It establishes strong sanitary and phytosanitary provisions that will protect food safety, helping to avoid unscientific barriers to exports,” said Vilsack.
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