The Administration is expecting a panel decision in a dispute with Canada over its dairy policy under US-Mexico-Canada Agreement later this summer or early fall, Chief US Agricultural Negotiator Doug McKalip said Wednesday..
In the meantime, the US Trade Representative’s Office remains heavily engaged with Canada, which lost an earlier case, but still has failed to comply with the USMCA, he told a gathering at the Minnesota Farm Fest.
The Administration remains “laser focused” on the issue and will keep up the pressure until US dairy producers have the full retail access to Canada’s market promised in the USMCA, he stated. “This battle is not over.”
US trade officials similarly remain engaged with Mexico over its presidential decree eventually prohibiting the import of biotech corn and other products. The decree does not follow sound science, but was put in place because it is popular with Mexican voters, he said. The United States has formally launched a USMCA dispute and is currently awaiting selection of a panel to oversee the case. The Administration – and US farmers in general – view this as a highly important case because if Mexico retains its ban, other countries are likely to follow suit with restrictions on biotech crops.
Meanwhile, China remains the major market for US agricultural exports, but the Administration is looking to diversify exports throughout Southeast Asia, where there are big, attractive markets in countries like the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia. That is why the Administration is negotiating the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which it hopes to conclude by November, Mr. McKalip said.
USTR also has efforts underway to open markets in Taiwan and Kenya, with the latter seen as a gateway into the African continent.
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