The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada’s national public broadcast network, interviewed Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA, on its show “On the Money” last Friday for a segment titled “U.S. Dairy Reaches Out to Trump.” Dykes explained to national viewers how Canada is enacting trade policies, in direct violation of the country’s existing trade agreements, which unfairly force out U.S. dairy exports. He said that dairy groups are raising the issue with the president-elect as he prepares to take office.
In the piece, Dykes joined Peter Armstrong, CBC national correspondent, to discuss a recent letter sent by IDFA and other U.S. dairy associations and state departments of agriculture from across the country telling Trump that Canada’s trade policies violate its previous trade commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization. Specifically, the letter said that the policies harm exports of U.S. ultra-filtered milk, which is used to create a variety of dairy products.
“The Canadian government is currently giving incentives to Canadian cheese manufacturers to use Canadian skim milk powder and forcing out the exports of our ultra-filtered milk from the U.S.,” Dykes explained. “So we thought it warranted bringing this to the attention of President-elect Trump.”
When asked how receptive Trump would be to the letter, Dykes said that he believes the dairy groups’ message of ensuring fairness in trade is in line with a significant part of Trump’s campaign rhetoric.
“Trade has been a major topic during the presidential debates, during the primaries and the general election here in the U.S., and the whole basis of the discussion is the belief that the trade policies, the trade agreements, need to be fair for American manufacturers and producers,” he said.
Dykes was also joined in the lead segment by a dean from Dalhousie University, a research university located in Nova Scotia, who agreed that Canada’s protectionist policies need to be revised.
CBC News also featured an article, “U.S. dairy groups urge Trump to set his sights on Canadian dairy policies,” published by The Canadian Press, a wire service for newspapers, radio and TV stations, websites and magazines.
IDFA will continue to speak out against Canada’s protectionist policies on Capitol Hill, with members of the Trump Administration and among state governors and legislators, while asking for changes that will force Canada to honor its trade commitments and allow more access for U.S. dairy products.
For more information, contact Beth Hughes, IDFA director of international affairs, at bhughes@idfa.org.