The United States, Mexico, and Canada have officially launched the first Joint Review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, better known as USMCA, and America’s dairy community is watching closely. For dairy farmers and exporters, this review is far more than a diplomatic exercise. It represents a chance to strengthen a trade agreement that has become the backbone of the industry’s international business.
The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council both weighed in on the review this week, offering a statement through Shawna Morris, who serves as Executive Vice President for both organizations. Their message was clear. Getting USMCA right matters enormously to dairy producers, and the stakes could hardly be higher.
The numbers help explain why. According to the two groups, more than 40 percent of all U.S. dairy exports by value are shipped to Mexico and Canada. That makes these two neighbors essential partners for American dairy, and any misstep in the renewal process could ripple across farms and processing plants throughout the country.
Mexico, in particular, stands out as the industry’s most important trading partner. Morris described the two nations’ dairy industries as deeply integrated, built over years of steady cooperation. She stressed that a renewed USMCA must fully protect the free trade of common name products such as everyday cheeses and other staples, especially against European Union efforts to restrict those names through geographical indications. Protecting the right of both U.S. and Mexican producers to use common names, she said, is essential to preserving the shared market the two countries have worked hard to build together.
The situation with Canada tells a different story. Morris pointed out that USMCA was designed to deliver two key reforms on the Canadian side. The first was a set of targeted new tariff-rate quotas that would open the door for more American dairy. The second was meaningful discipline on Canada’s practice of flooding global markets with artificially underpriced dairy proteins. In her words, Canada has flagrantly disregarded both commitments, and that failure underscores exactly why this review is such an important tool. A renewed agreement, she argued, must fix what isn’t working.
For farmers who have long valued fair dealing and the simple principle that a promise made should be a promise kept, the frustration with Canada is understandable. When agreements are honored, everyone benefits, and when they are not, hardworking producers are the ones left to bear the cost.
Both organizations voiced strong support for the U.S. government’s efforts to address these challenges, and they urged trading partners to engage in focused, intensive work to resolve them. As Morris put it, a stronger, more durable, renewed USMCA is key to the long-term prosperity of dairy producers and exporters across North America.
The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, Virginia, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. Its member cooperatives produce more than two-thirds of U.S. milk, giving the organization a powerful voice on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit membership organization representing the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, processors, cooperatives, ingredient suppliers, and export traders, working to enhance the industry’s competitiveness in markets around the world.
To read the full statement and learn more, visit www.nmpf.org or www.usdec.org.