bdmetronews Desk ॥ If you thought our neighbors to the north were all chill and chummy, think again.
President Trump, fresh from a visit to Wisconsin, told reporters on Thursday that certain Canadian trade practices are a “disgrace.” Canada, it turns out, recently lowered prices for a particular class of domestically produced dairy products, making them cheaper than imports from states such as Wisconsin and New York. That, in turn has led to the cancellation of some big contracts with family farmers in those states, and others. An industry group estimates the spat could cost American farmers $150 million, and force some of them to sell their cows.
“What happened to our dairy farmers in Wisconsin and New York State – we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said. “The fact is, NAFTA, whether it’s Mexico or Canada, is a disaster for our country. It’s a disaster. It’s a trading disaster.”
Some people forget that the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has blamed for lost jobs, falling incomes and a bunch of other problems, involves not just Mexico, which Trump railed against while campaigning last year, but Canada, as well. Although it’s a free-trade deal, NAFTA still allows some tariffs and other types of protections on various categories of products, which is stipulated in the agreement. And products that were developed after NAFTA went into effect in 1994 sometimes fall into a grey zone where they’re not subject to tariffs that apply to other, similar products that did exist at the time.
That appears to be what happened with a dairy product called ultrafiltered milk, which contains protein and fat products used to make cheese. Ultrafiltered milk was developed after NAFTA went into effect, and American product has been flowing into Canada for several years, subject to none of the tariffs that apply to other dairy products. Several Canadian provinces recently lowered the price of domestically produced UF milk, making it cheaper than the American version. Those changes are due to go national in Canada soon. Canada also subsidizes its milk industry, which helps keep farmers in business.
