Dairy Panel Rules in Favor of U.S. in First USMCA Trade Dispute

In the first dispute settlement since the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade agreement was signed, the U.S. prevailed as the panel agreed that Canada is unfairly restricting access to its market for U.S. dairy products. The U.S. said Canada is breaching its USMCA commitments regarding allocation of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQ).

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack commented on the result, saying,”This ruling is a big step for the U.S. dairy sector towards realizing the full benefits of the USMCA and securing real access to the Canadian market for additional high-quality American dairy products such as milk, cheese and skim milk powder.”

The panel is giving Canada 45 days from Dec. 20 to comply with the ruling. However, Canada is also claiming victory after the ruling, saying they have taken note of the panel’s finding regarding the country’s practice of reserving TRQ pools for the use of dairy processors, and that ultimately the panel’s decision support Canada’s supply-management system.

Read more on the trade dispute ruling here and read Sec. Vilsack’s full statement here.