Torres Small Fights to Protect NM Dairy Industry with Call for Increased USMCA Enforcement

August 13, 2020
Press Release
Torres Small alongside 103 Members of Congress write to UTSR Lighthizer & Agriculture Secretary Perdue to ensure compliance of dairy provisions included in USMCA trade agreement

Las Cruces, NM – Today, U.S. Representative Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02) led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue urging them to act swiftly to ensure Canada and Mexico abide by the new dairy commitments that went into effect last month as part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The USMCA made several important strides for the U.S. dairy sector, reforming many of Canada’s trade-distorting policies that undermined U.S. exports while also strengthening trade dependability with Mexico. As the U.S. focus now shifts to ensuring faithful and effective implementation of the Agreement’s provisions, full enforcement of the deal’s dairy provisions is critical to fully realizing USMCA’s important benefits for dairy.

“New Mexico’s agricultural producers, including our dairy farmers, face unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s why it’s all the more critical that we use every tool at our disposal to implement the hard-fought changes in the USMCA and open more markets for dairy farmers. We can’t allow these changes in trade policy to be hollowed out by a lack of enforcement. I remain ready to work with UTSR Lighthizer and Secretary Purdue to ensure our dairy farmers are treated fairly by Canada and Mexico trade practices,” said Torres Small.

“New Mexico’s dairy farmers depend on a robust and fair export market for dairy products. Milk from our farms is processed into any number of exported cheeses and dairy ingredients. USMCA will help ensure fair terms of trade, but only if Canada and Mexico are obligated to follow-through on their commitments. Already, our farms are concerned that Canada’s promises to open markets and to eliminate trade-distorting pricing systems are being avoided. That simply cannot be tolerated,” said Beverly Idsinga, Executive Director, Dairy Producers of New Mexico.

Read the full text of the letter here.

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Issues: 
Economy