Tag: dairy trade

NMPF Maps Dairy Trade Barriers Around the Globe

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF and USDEC submitted comments on Oct. 29 for USTR’s annual National Trade Estimate Report. The comments detail the top barriers facing U.S. dairy exports in 32 markets, from Canada and the European Union to Indonesia and Vietnam. The National Trade Estimate report is a compendium of trade barriers that the U.S. government has historically used to inform trade negotiations, including priority trade barriers in the ongoing reciprocal trade negotiations. Recurring issues included in the comments are European Union’s push to misuse geographical indications to monopolize terms like “parmesan” and “asiago,” onerous red tape such as Indonesia’s plant facility listing requirements and other import certification issues that serve as an impediment to dairy exports around the world.

NMPF also urged swift implementation of the Agreements on Reciprocal Trade, which would eliminate many of the nontariff barriers holding back dairy exports. Many of the deals include NMPF priorities included in prior years’ comments, including elimination or reduction of high tariffs on U.S. dairy, streamlining import certification processes, protects common cheese names and preempts future barriers to trade. With U.S. dairy exports reaching a record $9.6 billion in 2025, NMPF will keep pressing to clear these barriers so farmers can capture more of that global demand.

NMPF Advocacy Helps Secure RUTF Funding in USDA International Food Aid

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

USDA announced on Oct. 8 that $77 million in international food aid funding would be granted to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and related products to treat malnutrition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. RUTF is a paste made with U.S. milk powders used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition and wasting worldwide.

The funding follows ongoing NMPF and USDEC advocacy to keep RUTF a priority in U.S. food aid packages. NMPF and USDEC secured language in the House Farm Bill passed earlier this year that would provide explicit funding for RUTF, worked the appropriations process on Capitol Hill and stayed in regular contact with USDA to ensure continued funding for existing programming as the Food for Peace program transfers from the State Department to USDA.

Long-Time Dairy Advocate Jaime Castaneda to Retire

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF Executive Vice President Jaime Castaneda will retire from the organization this December after more than 27 years with the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC).

Over the course of his career, Castaneda has played a central role in negotiating and advancing many of the bilateral and regional trade agreements that have benefited U.S. dairy producers and exporters. Under his leadership, the industry achieved trade surpluses in dairy products across every major trade agreement while preserving the interests of American dairy farmers. Castaneda also has played significant leadership roles in NMPF government relations.

“The nation’s dairy farmers and dairy industry are indebted to Jaime for his years of dedication, leadership, and unwavering commitment,” said Gregg Doud, NMPF president & CEO. “Replacing Jaime’s expertise, institutional knowledge, and influence will be a tall order, but we are extremely fortunate to have Shawna Morris leading our trade policy efforts moving forward.”

Castaneda will continue serving as Executive Director of the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), where he has led international efforts to protect the use of common food and beverage terms against restrictive geographical indication policies, and remain active with USDEC and in international and domestic dairy issues.

NMPF Urges Canadian Reforms in Trade Dispute

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF supported the Trump Administration’s use on Aug. 22 of a novel trade authority tool in the hopes of coercing Canada to fix its dairy tariff-rate quota system.

The U.S. government’s action resulted in the implementation of 50 percent tariffs on Canadian dairy products, as well as a range of other imports from Canada. The Administration cited Canada’s unfair Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) allocation rules, which discriminate against U.S. dairy exporters, as a main motivation behind the tariffs.

“This action sends an unmistakable message that Canada’s ongoing disregard for its USMCA dairy commitments carries real consequences,” said NMPF President and CEO Gregg Doud, urging Canada to “stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith” to resolve the outstanding implementation issues that NMPF has been raising for years.

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council have consistently urged the Administration to prioritize resolution of Canada’s chronic TRQ underfill and its habit of exploiting loopholes to sidestep USMCA dairy protein disciplines as part of the ongoing USMCA Joint Review. These new tariffs reflect that sustained engagement translating into heightened leverage.

The immediate path forward remains uncertain following the negotiations’ breakdown over non-agricultural issues in August. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last week announced a sweeping set of retaliatory tariffs on Canadian imports – including several dairy products – set to begin Sept. 8. NMPF will continue working directly with the Administration to ensure any resolution of the current standoff includes binding fixes to Canada’s TRQ eligibility rules and quota administration.

USDEC, NMPF Thank Administration for Maintaining Pressure on Canada to Resolve USMCA Dairy Concerns

Posted on by Jessi-Ryah Cordova

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) expressed their strong appreciation to the Trump Administration for its continued focus on using all available trade tools to resolve outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dairy market access issues with Canada. With a 50 percent tariff on certain Canadian imports taking effect on Saturday, the organizations urged Canada to return to the negotiating table and prevent further escalation.

“We appreciate the Administration’s persistence in standing up for American dairy producers and exporters who have waited far too long for Canada to live up to its promises,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Canada has had plenty of chances to fix its unfair market access practices and close the loopholes it’s used to dodge its dairy commitments under USMCA. This weekend’s action makes clear that patience has run out. We look forward to continuing to work with the Administration until Canada resolves these issues and America’s dairy farmers and exporters see the full benefits USMCA promised.”

“This action sends an unmistakable message that Canada’s ongoing disregard for its USMCA dairy commitments carries real consequences,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “It’s time for Canada to stop looking for workarounds and instead sit down in good faith to resolve these outstanding USMCA dairy implementation issues. Canadian retaliation would only serve to force the United States’ hand in escalating its leverage. The objective should be for both our countries to prevent increased friction and build on the progress made through weeks of negotiations.”

Under USMCA, Canada committed to providing meaningful additional duty-free access for U.S. dairy exports through a series of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Canada’s administration of those TRQs has repeatedly resulted in chronic underfill. In addition, Canada has continued to exploit loopholes to sidestep USMCA disciplines on dairy protein exports. NMPF and USDEC have consistently urged the Administration to prioritize resolution of both issues as part of the ongoing USMCA Joint Review and continue to call on Canada to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.

NMPF Strengthens Partnerships in Latin America

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF and USDEC led a delegation of U.S. dairy industry leaders to Guanajuato, Mexico for the eighth annual U.S.-Mexico Dairy Binational event July 29-30, building on a longstanding partnership to mutually grow demand and address shared issues with the United States’ largest dairy trading partner. Producers from Dairy Farmers of America and Land O’Lakes joined the event.

Coming on the heels of the third round of USMCA negotiations with Mexico, the two industries reaffirmed their commitment to collectively growing the U.S. and Mexican dairy markets, limiting trade barriers and promoting the image of dairy. Participants also included a new commitment to collaboratively support the next generation of dairy farmers.

Further south, NMPF and USDEC signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Livestock Producers of the Highlands and Eastern Region (AGSO), a major agricultural cooperative based in Ecuador, on July 13 in Quito. The agreement deepens ties between the U.S. and Ecuadorian dairy sectors and commits the parties to cooperate on knowledge-sharing, dairy consumption promotion, productivity improvements, and coordinated engagement in international forums like Codex and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. The MOU includes a shared commitment to defend common food names such as “parmesan” and oppose foreign efforts to restrict their use.

The agreement is the latest step in NMPF’s sustained push across Latin America, building on momentum from the U.S.-Ecuador Agreement on Reciprocal Trade which will lower dairy tariffs and address nontariff barriers to trade. As global pressure mounts on common names and market access, NMPF continues cultivating regional relationships to strengthen U.S. dairy’s footprint and defend shared industry interests across Latin America.

U.S. Dairy Welcomes Trade Deal with Jordan as New U.S. Tariffs Announced

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF welcomed a tenth Agreement on Reciprocal Trade on July 21 with a new deal signed between the United States and Jordan that reinforces duty-free access for U.S. dairy exports and secures important commitments to address nontariff barriers.

The agreement builds on the 2001 U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement and advances priorities NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) have consistently advocated in trade negotiations, including preempting unnecessary regulatory barriers and protecting the use of common cheese names.

Specific to dairy, Jordan committed to recognize the U.S. dairy safety system as equivalent to its own and refrain from imposing facility registration requirements on U.S. dairy imports. The agreement also protects the use of 40 common cheese names, including “parmesan,” “feta” and “asiago,” and establishes transparent procedures for evaluating geographical indications applications. Additional commitments on import licensing, technical regulations, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures are intended to ensure science-based, predictable trade rules that facilitate U.S. dairy exports.

The deal came shortly before United States on July 24 imposed new Section 301 tariffs on 60 markets around the world due to their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor.” Ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent by country, with exemptions for USMCA-compliant goods, the new duties replace the 10 percent Section 122 tariffs imposed in February due to balance of payments deficits, which expired after the 150-day statutory limit.

USTR also granted zero exemptions for dairy imports into the United States under the new tariff announcement, following NMPF and USDEC’s July 6 comments urging the agency to keep dairy off exemption lists. The comments highlighted the more than $2 billion dairy trade deficit between the United States and the European Union driven primarily by a web of tariff and nontariff barriers. NMPF and USDEC noted that granting the European Union its request for dairy tariff relief would be a step in the wrong direction to correcting the deeply imbalanced transatlantic trade relationship.

While China maintains a 10 percent tariff on all U.S. exports, including dairy, no additional markets announced plans for retaliation. NMPF will continue to work with the administration to ensure the leverage yields new market access for U.S. dairy exporters, building on the 10 Agreements on Reciprocal Trade signed to date.

USMCA Joint Review Launches as NMPF Champions Dairy

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF is moving on multiple fronts to make sure the United States, Mexico and Canada advance the Review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) works as intended for U.S. dairy, building on the market access secured to date and resolving issues critical to the trade treaty’s renewal.

NMPF responded to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer’s July 1 announcement that the United States would not agree to renew USMCA in its current form by encouraging efforts to resolve dairy issues including Canadian market access and nonfat milk solids exports, as well as Mexico’s protection of common food names. The agreement remains in force while the parties work through unresolved issues; it does not lapse or terminate automatically.

NMPF’s Jaime Castaneda and Shawna Morris participated in the third round of U.S.-Mexico bilateral USMCA Review negotiations in Mexico City on July 22-23, which provided a backdrop for the eighth annual U.S.-Mexico Binational Dairy Summit held later in the month. NMPF will remain engaged as the Mexico talks continue, with the next negotiating round scheduled for early next month.

As negotiations with Canada have been progressing at a slower pace, NMPF supported a July 20 announcement from the administration that it will be imposing a 50 percent tariff on certain Canadian imports, including some dairy products, starting Aug. 19. USTR plans to impose the tariffs under Section 338 of the Trade Act of 1930, citing Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. dairy exports in its decision. USTR paired the announcement with two additional Section 338 determinations on Canada’s discriminatory treatment of U.S. motor vehicles and alcoholic beverages exports.

NMPF president and CEO Gregg Doud commended USTR’s exploration of all available trade tools to address the outstanding dairy trade issues with Canada, saying the “assertive action by the administration makes clear to Canada that their dairy trade practices will no longer be tolerated. Canada simply cannot continue to discriminate against U.S. dairy farmers by effectively blocking negotiated access to its market. It is well past time for Canada to negotiate in good faith and tackle the outstanding USMCA dairy implementation issues to help drive a successful conclusion of the USMCA review.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the new tariffs by committing to expedited negotiations but did not rule out retaliation should trade talks fall apart.

NMPF will stay closely engaged with U.S. trade officials through every negotiating round, working to keep dairy priorities front and center and to preserve and strengthen the gains U.S. dairy has built with both neighbors under USMCA.

U.S. Dairy Industry Supports Administration’s Dedication to Defending U.S. Dairy Market Access into Canada

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The White House announced earlier today that it is taking action to impose 50% tariffs on dairy imports from Canada to defend the rights of U.S. dairy exporters. The administration indicated it is invoking Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to “…hold Canada accountable for its retaliation and discrimination…” The National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council support the administration’s efforts to identify all possible avenues to drive Canada to make the necessary changes to its protectionist dairy trade practices.

“We appreciate the administration’s commitment to standing up for dairy farmers and manufacturers eager to make full use of the market access commitments Canada made under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement [USMCA],” Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC, said. “For far too long, Canada has intentionally misused its tariff rate quota system to impede the full use of USMCA dairy quotas. It’s time for Canada to come to the table and resolve this and other USMCA dairy issues. We look forward to working with the administration to ensure that all the intended dairy benefits of USMCA are fully realized.”

“Today’s assertive action by the administration makes clear to Canada that their dairy trade practices will no longer be tolerated,” Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF, said. “Canada simply cannot continue to discriminate against U.S. dairy farmers by effectively blocking negotiated access to its market. It is well past time for Canada to negotiate in good faith and tackle the outstanding USMCA dairy implementation issues to help drive a successful conclusion of the USMCA review.”

Under USMCA, Canada committed to providing important additional quantities of duty-free access for U.S. dairy product exports to its market through the creation of several tariff-rate quotas (TRQs). Regrettably, Canada’s decisions on how to administer those TRQs have resulted in persistent underfill, denying the U.S. dairy industry of the intended market access opportunities. Additionally, Canada has used loopholes to evade USMCA disciplines on dairy protein exports. Both topics are priorities NMPF and USDEC have urged the administration to resolve during the ongoing USMCA Review.

NMPF Advances Dairy Priorities During USMCA Review

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF and cooperative leadership has been advocating on multiple fronts, including on Capitol Hill, in bilateral negotiations, and through coalition advocacy, to ensure the dairy industry is positioned for success as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) accelerates.

NMPF prepared board member Michael Lichte, who serves as Chief Insights and Optimization Officer for Dairy Farmers of America, to testify June 10 before the House Committee on Agriculture on the agreement’s importance to U.S. dairy, and where it is currently falling short.

“The underlying market distortions USMCA sought to discipline continue to affect U.S. manufacturers and global dairy protein markets,” Lichte added. “With appropriate enforcement and modernization, USMCA can continue supporting investment, export growth, and economic opportunity for the United States’ dairy farmers and processors for generations to come.”

Lichte documented Canada’s attempts to limit U.S. dairy exports through its dairy tariff-rate quota administration. He also highlighted Canada’s use of alternative tariff classifications to route surplus dairy proteins into global markets in ways that evade USMCA’s export disciplines, a practice confirmed by a May 2026 USITC report to which NMPF contributed evidence and testimony last year.

Lichte also underscored the importance of preserving U.S. exporters’ ability to use common cheese names like “feta” in Mexico, where NMPF has long fought back against EU geographical indications overreach.

Later in the month, NMPF executive vice president Shawna Morris provided input to the U.S. government in her capacity as a cleared confidential advisor during the June 15-17 negotiating round between the United States and Mexico.

NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud joined a June 24 panel organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies with Mexico’s lead USMCA agricultural trade negotiator Dr. Julio Berdegué and Tom Rosser, assistant deputy minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to highlight the importance of targeted adjustments to strengthen and renew the trade deal.

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council also joined more than 150 North American agricultural organizations in a June 1 letter to USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer and his Canadian and Mexican counterparts that highlighted the need for USMCA to be strengthened and renewed during the review process.

“All three nations share the responsibility of protecting and strengthening this competitive advantage, which is essential not only to economic prosperity, but also to national security and regional stability,” the letter said.

NMPF Urges USTR to Protect Common Names in AGOA Modernization

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF, USDEC, and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) submitted formal comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on May 13, making the case that reauthorization of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) should include explicit protections for common food names as an eligibility condition.

AGOA is a U.S. trade law that provides sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the U.S. market when they meet certain economic and human rights conditions.

The comments commended the Trump administration for prioritizing and including common name provisions in nine reciprocal trade agreements to date, which ensure U.S. dairy exporters can market products under globally recognized generic terms like “parmesan” and “feta.” The three organizations urged USTR to extend that momentum to AGOA by making common name protections an explicit eligibility condition for beneficiary countries.

The stakes are significant as the European Union has aggressively used geographical indication provisions in trade agreements to lock out U.S. competitors by monopolizing generic cheese terms. AGOA modernization offers a powerful lever to reverse that trend, and NMPF is collaborating with allies in Congress and the administration to secure a level playing field for U.S. dairy across Africa.

U.S. Dairy Cites New USITC Report in Call for Action on Canadian Dairy Trade Practices

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council today reiterated their call for the U.S. Trade Representative to use the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) joint review process to address Canada’s distortionary nonfat milk solids export practices. Their statement follows yesterday’s release of the U.S. International Trade Commission’s (USITC) Section 332 report, Nonfat Milk Solids: Competitive Conditions for the United States and Major Foreign Suppliers.

The report confirms what NMPF and USDEC have long documented: that Canadian milk production quotas that “aim to match domestic supply and demand for butterfat lead to a level of raw milk production that results in a domestic structural surplus of [nonfat milk solids] components.” The report goes on to note that the Canadian government-administered milk pricing system “unlinks its relatively high farmgate price of milk from the price that [nonfat milk solids] processors pay for milk components in Canada using regulated ‘price discrimination.’”

The Canadian structural surplus and pricing system outlined in the report served as a basis for NMPF and USDEC to work with the first Trump administration to secure commitments during the USMCA negotiations for Canada to limit its artificially low-priced skim milk powder and milk protein concentrate exports. The deal established an annual threshold over which these nonfat milk solids exports are subject to a surcharge to ensure U.S. producers are not being undercut in the U.S. or international markets.

While the report acknowledges that Canada has to date limited its exports of products formally classified as nonfat milk solids, it also cites a marked increase in Canadian exports of products categorized under tariff codes for “blended dairy products” and “protein isolates,” that fall outside of the USMCA-disciplined tariff categorization. The report estimates that from 2013 to 2015 exports under the “protein isolate” tariff code were just 76 metric tons. Post USMCA implementation, the volume of protein isolates has grown dramatically to over 32,000 metric tons from 2022 to 2024. While the tariff code is not exclusive to dairy proteins, USITC estimates that most of the exports were dairy based.

USITC notes that the dairy products are entering the United States from new and expanded processing plants in British Columbia and Manitoba. The report cites that “[i]n addition to access to cost-competitive sources of [nonfat milk solids] components, these facilities received grants and loans from national and provincial governments.”

In testimony before the USITC as part of the investigation in July 2025, NMPF and USDEC’s Jaime Castaneda and William Loux called out the detrimental effects of Canada’s cumulative pricing and trade practices on U.S. dairy farmers and processors. Castaneda said, “it is absurd that Canadian dairy producers receive one of the highest farmgate milk prices in the world by a wide margin, yet their nonfat milk solids end up on the global market at prices below our cost of production.” Loux added, “Canada’s actions distort markets and undermine fair competition … This information is critical to bring substantive results for U.S. dairy producers and processors, including during the upcoming USMCA review process.”

The testimony complemented comprehensive comments submitted by NMPF and USDEC as part of the investigation and coordination among members to demonstrate the breadth of the issue. The organizations will continue to work with USTR to leverage the report and ensure Canadian attempts to circumvent their dairy protein export commitments are comprehensively addressed in the ongoing USMCA joint review process.