A senior executive from Dairy Farmers of America appeared before the House Committee on Agriculture today to advocate for strengthening the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement during its upcoming review process. Michael Lichte, who serves as Chief Insights and Optimization Officer for the cooperative, represented both the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council in his testimony.
“Export demand now accounts for 17% of total U.S. milk production and has become one of the primary drivers of incremental growth across the dairy sector,” Lichte said. “For DFA and the U.S. dairy industry broadly, USMCA remains one of the most consequential trade agreements affecting long-term competitiveness, manufacturing investment, and farm-level economic stability. That’s why it’s essential that we strengthen and renew it.”
The executive emphasized that Mexico and Canada combined represent over 40% of total U.S. dairy export value. His congressional testimony centered on Canada’s management of dairy import quotas that he says restricts trade, along with that country’s efforts to bypass agreement rules on dairy protein exports. He also stressed the need to protect American exporters’ rights to use traditional cheese names such as “feta” in Mexican markets.
Regarding Canada specifically, Lichte presented data showing persistent shortfalls in agreed-upon dairy import quotas, with fill rates reaching only 64% for industrial cheese, 34% for fluid milk, and merely 7% for skim milk powder by 2025. He further outlined Canada’s increasing reliance on alternative classification systems to export surplus dairy proteins to American and international markets while avoiding the trade agreement’s protein export limits, a practice validated by a May 2026 U.S. International Trade Commission analysis.
“The underlying market distortions USMCA sought to discipline continue to affect U.S. manufacturers and global dairy protein markets,” Lichte added. “With appropriate enforcement and modernization, USMCA can continue supporting investment, export growth, and economic opportunity for the United States’ dairy farmers and processors for generations to come.”
