WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th December, 2020) The United States has filed a complaint under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) alleging that Canadian dairy import allocations contravene the accord, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.
"Canada's measures violate its commitments and harm US dairy farmers and producers. We are disappointed that Canada's policies have made this first ever enforcement action under the USMCA necessary to ensure compliance with the agreement," Lighthizer said on Wednesday.
The United States alleging that Canadian dairy tariffs rate quotas (TRQs) - allocations for duty-free imports - were reserved for domestic processors, which would undermine the ability of US dairy farmers to export a wide variety of their products north of the border.
The office of Mary Ng, Canada's Minister of Small business, Export Promotion and International Trade, did not immediately respond Sputnik's request for comment.
The US dairy industry has decried Canada's allocation of TRQs, saying that it fell well short of what was negotiated in the USMCA, which was signed into law earlier this year.
