Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Dairy Processors Association of Canada feel they were misled on the date of implementation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
In a news release, the groups say the dairy sector had secured the support of parliamentarians to have the agreement come into force in conjunction with the beginning of the dairy year, which is August 1, 2020.
"Our government was first out of the gate to give notice to the other parties that it was ready to implement CUSMA. The dairy sector was informed at the last minute and judging by the reaction from the opposition parties, we weren't alone in this being a complete surprise," said Jacques Lefebvre, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Canada.
The groups note this would have allowed the sector a full 12-months of exports per the negotiated concession for year-one threshold limit on key dairy products, before being constrained by the significant reduction conceded in year two of the agreement. They add by coming into force before the start of the dairy year on August 1, 2020, the first-year export cap and access volume will apply immediately and for just a few weeks before a significantly lower second-year export cap is triggered, and significantly more volume is imported into Canada.
Conservative Senator Don Plett, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, agrees.
“Seven weeks ago, the Trudeau government looked us straight in the eye and said they would not ratify this deal early. On April 3, Minister Freeland went back on her promise. Since the United States also ratified the treaty last week, the treaty will now come into force on July 1. The Trudeau government has decided they won’t stand up to protect Canada’s dairy industry. It’s inexcusable that this solemn commitment to our dairy farmers now has to be added to the long list of broken promises made by the Trudeau government," he said.
For dairy producers and processors, the early implementation by one month of CUSMA is estimated to represent up to $100 million in losses. An additional $330 million in annual perpetual losses is expected as a result of the lost market share.
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