Tuesday, September 6th 2016
Courtesy of Brownfield Ag News
U.S. Senators from two dairy states have called for an investigation into Canadian dairy trade rules. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Chuck Schumer of New York have concerns about Ontario’s new milk pricing program instituted this past spring. Baldwin tells Brownfield, “Right now, it appears that Ontario is trying to set up a system that greatly favors their domestic producers of ultra-filtered milk, to the detriment of producers and processors in states like Wisconsin and New York.” Senator Baldwin says she believes the new rule has cost U.S. dairy producers hundreds of millions of dollars in just six months, and she thinks there might be a violation of existing trade rules. Baldwin tells Brownfield, “In my opinion, we need to see if they are allowed under our existing trade deals, whether they be NAFTA or the WTO, because I’m very concerned that they’re not.” The senators wrote to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, asking for an investigation. Ultra-filtered milk is a big part of the food ingredient industry. The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council applaud the call for an investigation.