Canada’s dairy industry says it’s not scared by American warnings suggesting new rules on milk classes may violate international trade rules.
“We’re not scared of threats and we believe whatever we’ve done inside of our country to deal with our domestic product is something that we have every right to be able to determine for ourselves,” Dairy Farmers of Canada President Wally Smith told reporters in Ottawa Tuesday after unveiling the industry’s updated blue cow logo.
Canada’s dairy industry is debating whether to implement a new ingredient strategy after the idea was backed by members at the sector’s annual meeting in Charlottetown in July.
The strategy, which is not in effect nationally, comes from changes to milk classes in Ontario that tighten import rules in order to dissuade imports of diafiltered milk.
Ontario has created a new category — Class 6 — which took effect this spring and forms the basis of the proposed national strategy. The new class applies to ingredients like skim milk powder and milk protein concentrates like diafiltered milk. In Canada, raw milk is classified and priced based on end use, with Class 1 including fluid milk and creams.
Diafiltered milk is a protein ingredient largely being imported from American dairy processors. The Canadian Border Services Agency classifies it as a protein ingredient, while the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says diafiltered milk is milk — a regulatory discrepancy producers say is undermining Canada’s supply management system.
The national strategy was supposed to be implemented September 1, but is now being reviewed by the Canadian Milk Management Committee. Details of the agreement have not been made public. Dairy Farmers of Canada said in July those details would not be made available until after the agreement was ratified.
The strategy, Smith said Tuesday, still doesn’t have unanimous support within the industry. “The ingredient strategy is still being worked on … not everyone has signed off on it yet because it’s still undergoing analysis.”
The ingredient strategy has been criticized internationally, with several countries — including the United States and New Zealand — warning the proposed policy may violate World Trade Organization rules.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a frank October 25 letter the proposed strategy would affect New York milk exports. The letter was made public Monday.
“I urge you to ensure that any new Canadian program does not follow the flawed approach of seeking to solve the challenges of Canada’s dairy industry by creating barriers that hamper the exports of products from New York’s dairy industry,” the letter reads.
“Should Canada move forward with this decision, New York will explore all options available to ensure fair access to this vital export market,” the governor warned.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirmed Tuesday the letter has been received and has been flagged to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Source: iPolitics
