U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed this week that dairy trade issues remain a priority under President Trump.
“Yes, the dairy piece of that is very important,” Rollins said, recounting a phone call Trump made to then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shortly before Trudeau’s resignation. “Literally, on the phone was like a full ‘smack down’ on ‘why are you treating my dairy farmers like this’?” Rollins added.
Ongoing trade tensions over Canada’s supply-managed dairy system include tariffs of more than 250% on imports beyond set quotas. However, according to The Annenberg Public Policy Center, those numbers are misleading. It explains, “There are rates that high on the books, but they would only be charged if U.S. exports exceed predetermined tariff rate quotas, which the dairy exports don’t come close to meeting.”
Although the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) aimed to improve U.S. access, officials say Canada still allocates tariff-rate quotas in ways that favor its domestic processors. A 2022 dispute panel ruled in favor of the U.S., but a 2023 panel upheld Canada’s revised system. The issue continues to affect a $1.2 billion cross-border dairy trade.
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