Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Kathrine Tai traveled to Wisconsin to meet with dairy farmers. Several producers voiced their concerns and priorities for dairy exports, specifically when it comes to trade issues with Canada under USMCA.

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“I think we had some really candid exchanges. One of the really important aspects of the USMCA is that we have a stronger, we hope, a more efficient and effective dispute settlement mechanism. And that mechanism is exactly for situations like this where we're very proud that we secured improved access from the Canadians in these negotiations, and now we need to use the tools that are in the agreement to translate those promises into actual opportunities.”

Another topic on the mind of the dairy industry; geographic indicators in Europe.

“This has been something that the Europeans have been pursuing for a long time. We've deployed many strategies to try to address or counter program against the European policies. We're going to continue to do that, and certainly will be an important part of our trade agenda in raising it directly with the Europeans, but also working with our other trading partners to make sure that we can retain market opportunities to compete with the Europeans on fair terms,” Tai continued.

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