Washington Weekly is IDFA’s update curating policy news from the nation’s capital. This week, Canada and the United States are standing firm on dairy issues in final North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks; disputes in the 2018 Farm Bill Conference Committee threaten farm bill passage; and Congress passes funding bills. This edition also includes a brief (five-minute) video message from Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, about these issues.
United States Demands Dairy Concessions from Canada in Trade Talks
Trade tensions over Canada’s dairy policies intensified this week as both President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau prepare for midterm elections this November. Some options for settling this dispute are now on the trade talk table. They include negotiating dairy completely outside of the NAFTA talks and Trudeau implementing a trade aid package to compensate Canada’s dairy farmers for policy changes in NAFTA. Sources familiar with the negotiations claim that the most likely deal would require Canada to increase tariff-rate quotas on certain U.S. dairy products. Read more here.
2018 Farm Bill Negotiations Continue
Congressional agriculture leaders continue to work to craft a compromise farm bill but there are only two weeks to go before the current farm bill expires at the end of September. With the House in recess this week, House Agriculture Committee leaders Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) may travel back to Washington to hold more talks with the Senate. Read more here.
Congress Agrees on Legislation to Fund Government Through Dec. 7
Both chambers reached an agreement on Thursday to keep the federal government open through Dec. 7 of this year. The measure, called a continuing resolution, includes the FY 2019 Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services and Education funding bills, which is a major portion of total appropriations funding. Read more here.