International Dairy Foods Association Complains Canada Already Violating USMCA
The International Dairy Foods Association told the chief agricultural negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that it believes Canada is already violating the annex on tariff rate quotas in the USMCA. The dairy trade group, which sent a letter to Ambassador Gregg Doud on June 30, says that USMCA prohibits TRQs from having conditions or eligibility requirements beyond those already in the Canadian Tariff Schedule -- and that Canada is doing just that.
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“One egregious example is limiting access to the “Cheese of All Types” TRQ to just 15% for distributors and allocating 85% to processors,” IDFA wrote. “The Agreement also requires parties to ensure that they do not 'limit access to an allocation to processors' unless otherwise agreed to by the parties.” But IDFA says that Canadian distributors cannot import either bulk or retail-ready butter throughout the year because Global Affairs Canada “initially allocates access at the start of the quota year predominately into the hands of Canadian processors based on their market share from domestic milk rather than import activity.”
They asked that Doud work with dairy exporters “to ensure that Canada lives up to the commitments it made when it ratified the Agreement.”