Report: Europe Complaints Canada Not Following Through on Cheese Export Access
The head of the agriculture committee for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union initiated a review earlier this year of how Canada is running its tariff rate quota system for imported cheeses, according to a report in the National Post in Canada.
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The free trade deal increased imports under the quota 5.3 million kilograms in 2018, the first full year the treaty was in effect. Jean-Marc Trarieux, the CETA agriculture committee chairman, wrote to Canadian officials and said that the quota is not filled smoothly through the year. Allocation was 71 percent for industrial cheese and 99 percent for fine cheese, according to the report, but most came in the last quarter of the year.
The International Cheese Council, which represents importers in Canada, said cheese prices haven't dropped because many importers have to pay transfer fees for TRQs that are first given to Canadian dairy processors. The National Post said CETA and Canadian officials will meet this week to discuss the issue.