IDFA has kept up the drumbeat on the need to address Canada’s Class 7 milk pricing regime during the ongoing renegotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The issue became a topic of discussion during a meeting last Thursday that President Donald Trump held with cabinet officials and Republican members of Congress to discuss agricultural trade.

Congressman David Rouzer, R-N.C., a member of the House Agriculture Committee who attended the meeting, posted a tweet thanking the president for committing to addressing “Canada and their very unfair Class 7 dairy program” during the discussion. Class 7 dairy provisions severely restrict market access for U.S. dairy products and allow Canada to dump skim milk powder on the world market.


Also attending the meeting were U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and other members of Congress representing agriculture, including Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

IDFA will continue its efforts to maintain dairy market access to Mexico and ensure that Canadian dairy pricing issues are addressed in NAFTA as talks progress.

According to a report from Inside U.S. Trade, trade ministers from Canada and Mexico will meet with Ambassador Lighthizer on Thursday in Washington, D.C., to discuss the agreement.

For more information, contact Beth Hughes, IDFA director of international affairs, at bhughes@idfa.org.