» Dairy farms:
Delegation appeals to commerce chief
Wisconsin’s congressional delegation asks Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Acting Trade Rep. Stephen Vaughn to address a dairy trade dispute that threatens dozens of farms in the state.
Wisconsin’s congressional delegation has asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Acting Trade Rep. Stephen Vaughn to address a dairy trade dispute that threatens dozens of farms in the state.
Ross spent decades in investment banking, and in the early 2000s purchased some of the nation’s largest steel mills — later selling them to India’s Mittal Steel.
Vaughn is a longtime trade lawyer who represented U.S. steel producers in cases involving imports from China.
Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker and the 10 members of Congress from Wisconsin appealed to Ross, Vaughn and Acting Agriculture Secretary Michael Young for help in the dairy dispute that U.S. farmers say could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales to Canada.
The Wisconsin delegation was joined by Democrats from New York: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
“Canada has recently taken steps to implement targeted milk pricing programs that have compromised the ability of Wisconsin dairy farmers to access the Canadian market under existing trade agreements,” the Wisconsin delegation said in a letter to Ross, Vaughn and Young.
“We are greatly concerned that these programs appear to violate Canada’s existing trade obligations to the United States. The situation underscores how Canada’s new pricing policies are not only undermining trade with the United States but are displacing fresh milk produced by hard-working dairy farmers in Wisconsin and around the country,” the letter said.
At issue are changes in Canadian policy that make it harder for U.S. dairy processors — such as Grassland Dairy Products of Greenwood — to sell ultra-filtered milk, used to make cheese, in Canada.
Grassland recently notified about 75 Wisconsin farms that, as of May 1, it is canceling their milk contracts because the company lost its Canadian business — a move that could force some of those farms to shut down.
The trade dispute could become part of President Trump’s plan to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
But even if Trump were to win concessions from Canada, it could be too late for the farms that depended on, and were shut out of, the Canadian market.
Something must be done sooner, according to Wisconsin’s congressional delegation.
“We urge you to take immediate action to address this dire situation where apparent unfair trade practices are putting Wisconsin dairy farmers’ livelihoods at risk,” their letter said.
Exports are critical to the viability of Wisconsin’s dairy farms.
“These families rely on them for their very livelihood. I am encouraged by this bipartisan effort and will continue to work with my colleagues and impacted stakeholders to break down these trade barriers and reach a practical solution,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-Janesville), said in a statement.
Canada denies any wrongdoing and says the issue is about economics, not trade policy.
“We know that dairy producers in the U.S. are going through tough times; however, incorrectly laying the blame on an unrelated Canadian domestic policy will not improve their situation. It is wrong to use Canada as a scapegoat for the situation in the United States.” Dairy Farmers of Canada said in a statement.