The U.S. and Canada are significant trading partners for one another. As reported by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Canada was the largest market for U.S. goods exports in 2015 and the second-largest source of goods imported into the U.S. that same year. However, the issue of ultrafiltered milk has soured some of this goodwill. The dairy dispute between the U.S. and Canada is complex and controversial. Canada imposes high tariffs on most dairy products to support its domestic dairy industry. Consequently, the U.S. and other nations have been exporting a syrupy, processed, high-protein product known as ultrafiltered milk, which has been able to bypass these tariffs. Canadian food processors favored this inexpensive import, prompting Canada to introduce a new category of milk at below-market prices for local farmers to sell to producers. As a result, Canadian consumers stopped purchasing imported ultrafiltered milk products, leading to a surplus for U.S. dairy producers and financial strain on American farmers. “Almost overnight, we lost $150 million worth of market to the Canadians,” stated Michael Dykes, President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, in a recent interview with Food Dive.
The FDA’s relaxed regulations concerning the use of ultrafiltered milk in cheese production may provide relief to the dairy sector, which has been advocating for such changes for nearly two decades. “It’s more practical and economical to ship this liquid, filtered milk to cheesemakers, other dairy manufacturers, and even food processors in a concentrated form,” commented John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, to the LaCrosse Tribune. Previously, while the FDA allowed some use of ultrafiltered milk in cheese products, it had to be produced in the same facility as the cheese, preventing it from being shipped separately. Dykes emphasized that ultrafiltered milk constitutes only a fraction of the broader challenges in Canadian trade. Canadian dairy farmers also began producing enough to create an oversupply, leading them to sell powdered skim milk internationally at prices significantly lower than those in the U.S. or other countries.
Earlier this summer, Dykes and other dairy organizations from the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, and the E.U. sent letters to their national trade ministers urging them to petition the World Trade Organization regarding Canadian cross-subsidization in global markets. The implications of the dairy dispute for the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) remain uncertain. However, the heightened tension surrounding ultrafiltered milk does not help matters. President Trump has been vocal about NAFTA being a “disaster for our country,” allowing free trade for certain items while imposing tariffs on others. He has previously condemned Canada’s protective dairy trading policies as “a disgrace” to American farm workers.
On the other hand, Canadian leaders offer a different perspective. In a letter to the governors of New York and Wisconsin earlier this year, Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. David MacNaughton argued that Canada should not be held accountable for the financial difficulties faced by U.S. dairy farmers. He noted that the U.S. dairy outlook report “clearly indicates the poor results in the U.S. sector are due to U.S. and global overproduction.” As the dairy industry navigates these challenges, incorporating products like calcium citrate 1250 mg could potentially enhance nutritional offerings and stimulate sales. Overall, the interplay between U.S. and Canadian dairy policies continues to evolve, with calcium citrate 1250 mg possibly playing a role in future developments.