Canada-US dairy trade negotiations

Tensions have emerged regarding Canada’s supply-management system amid trade negotiations with the United States. The Bloc Québécois has urged Prime Minister Mark Carney to ‘respect his word’ and avoid making concessions to the Trump administration that would grant American producers increased access to Canadian and Quebec markets. Party representatives expressed concern that dairy producers are being used as ‘bargaining chips’ in broader trade deals.

In response to these pressures, newly elected Liberal MP Daniel Gobeil, a former dairy farmer and agricultural leader, has pledged to represent the Quebec dairy sector in Ottawa. Gobeil has engaged in discussions with the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade to address Washington’s pressure on the system, which regulates production and pricing through import quotas and tariffs. A federal law passed last year currently restricts the Canadian government from making trade commitments that would increase import quotas or lower tariffs for these protected sectors.