The National Milk Producers Federation has intensified its advocacy efforts in preparation for the upcoming U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement review scheduled for this summer, deploying both congressional testimony and coalition-building strategies to push for critical improvements.
Idaho dairy producer Ted Vander Schaaf, who serves on the boards of Northwest Dairy Association/Darigold and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on February 12th to outline the dairy sector’s priorities for the trade agreement assessment. Vander Schaaf holds a position with an NMPF associate member organization.
During his testimony, Vander Schaaf stressed the critical role USMCA plays in ensuring reliable and transparent market access, especially for exports to Mexico. However, he also pointed to significant deficiencies that require attention. He called out Canada’s ongoing manipulation of dairy tariff-rate quotas and its efforts to bypass USMCA dairy protein export rules, which disadvantage American dairy exporters. Additionally, he addressed Mexico’s delays in fully honoring its commitments to safeguard common cheese names, explaining why this matters to both dairy farmers and processing companies.
The organization also took a central role in establishing the Agricultural Coalition for USMCA on February 5th, a broad industry initiative aimed at supporting the agreement’s renewal while pushing for necessary enhancements. This coalition plans to collaborate with both Congress and the current Administration to address the trade deal’s weaknesses prior to its renewal.
During the coalition’s inaugural press conference, NMPF Executive Vice President Shawna Morris stated, “USMCA is an extremely strong agreement, but it’s not perfect. The USMCA review offers an unmissable opportunity to make targeted enhancements so the agreement can live up to its full intended potential.”
