Tag: Mexico dairy

NMPF Leads Charge to Prioritize Dairy in 2026 USMCA Review

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

As preparations continue for the 2026 review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council are advancing a coordinated strategy to ensure the agreement delivers on its promises to U.S. dairy producers.

NMPF Executive Vice President for Trade Policy and Global Affairs Shawna Morris testified before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative at a Dec. 3 hearing, to highlight the trade pact’s importance for U.S. dairy producers and emphasize the need for the administration to address violations of USMCA dairy commitments. Morris detailed how Canada continues to manipulate dairy tariff-rate quotas and offload surplus nonfat milk solids into global markets at artificially low prices. She also pointed to Mexico’s failure to implement USMCA protections for common cheese names like “feta.”

Congress reinforced the message the same day, as a bipartisan group of 74 House members sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer urging the administration to address unresolved dairy issues in the USMCA review. Developed with support from NMPF, USDEC, and dairy stakeholders, the letter calls out Canada’s unfair import restrictions and global dumping practices, while pressing for full implementation of Mexico’s commitments on common cheese names.

NMPF and USDEC also took their case directly to Capitol Hill. NMPF Trade Policy Director Tony Rice participated in a pair of briefings for House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee staff on Dec. 9 and 10 as part of the new U.S. Agriculture Coalition for USMCA. Rice emphasized the importance of targeted improvements to the agreement, noting that 44 percent of U.S. dairy exports by value went to Mexico and Canada last year.

The progress builds on sustained engagement by NMPF and USDEC, including joint written comments submitted Oct. 31, an Aug. 5 appearance before the U.S. International Trade Commission, and multiple filings tied to the Commission’s investigation into nonfat milk solids competitiveness that will inform the administration’s approach to address Canada’s offloading of dairy proteins.

All together, these efforts reflect NMPF’s ongoing push to ensure the USMCA review strengthens the agreement, holds U.S. trading partners accountable, and delivers fair market access for American dairy producers.

U.S. and Mexico Dairy Sectors Recommit to Binational Cooperation

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Leading dairy representatives from the United States and Mexico gathered at Dairy Farmers of America headquarters in Kansas City this week to discuss strengthening cross-border cooperation on dairy issues. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) served as the U.S. hosts and event organizers. Mexico’s delegation at the meeting included representatives from the Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas (CNOG), Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Leche (AMLAC), Gremio de Productores Lecheros de Mexico, Cámara Nacional de Industriales de la Leche (CANILEC), and Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA).

On their fifth annual meeting within the framework of the partnership to strengthen the productive sector for milk in North America, held in Kansas City, the U.S. and Mexican dairy industries hereby agree to:

  1. Preserve, facilitate, and enhance fair trade between the two
  2. Preserve this forum for discussion and analysis of the relevant topics and issues of the milk and dairy producing sectors of Mexico and the United States.
  3. Have as a key objective the expansion of dairy consumption in both countries to the benefit of producers, manufacturers and consumers in the United States and Mexico. Promote joint activities that help increase the consumption of our dairy products within our region.
  4. Identify and promote actions that improve the productivity of dairy farms in Mexico and the United States.
  5. Continuously seek to strengthen the image and reputation of milk and dairy products in both countries to defend against the improper usage of milk and milk product names by other products of non-dairy origin.
  6. Maintain an open communication channel between the milk and dairy producers’ organizations of both countries, with the aim of achieving consensus for the benefit of our Likewise, exchange information and successful experiences through the participation of members of both countries in forums and congresses organized by our associations.
  7. Work on the strengthening of cooperation in the areas of technological exchange and training, both in terms of milk production at the farm level and in food safety and quality improvement of milk and dairy products from the nutritional standpoint.
  1. Work on sharing information on key new areas such as sustainability, animal welfare, farm labor, and other issues as they appear and mutually agree to the benefit of our producers and industry to ensure that we coordinate efforts to defend dairy in international forums and with consumers. Exchange information about the market trends of milk and dairy products in the North American region.
  2. Continue activities in defense of common food names, in particular, cheese names, allowing their free use in our North American market.
  1. Develop a work plan on the topics of the common agenda, with a follow-up scheme with scheduled meetings.