On January 31, 2023, just over a year after receiving the final decision of the dispute settlement panel on Canada’s dairy TRQs, the United States stated it was seeking a second trade dispute settlement panel over Canada’s dairy import quotas under the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).
The U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement that Canada was unfairly using a market-share approach for determining quota allocations, and had imposed new conditions that effectively prohibit Canadian retailers, food service operators, and other types of importers from utilizing import quota allocations.
Canada’s trade minister, Mary Ng, responded that she was disappointed in the US’s latest request and would defend Canada’s longstanding Supply Management system. “We will stand firm against attempts to re-negotiate during this dispute settlement panel process,” Ng said.
Based on the timelines in the trade agreement, a dispute settlement panel will be formed in the next month or so. The panel would be expected to publish its report seven to nine months later. As was done in the previous CUSMA panel, DPAC will continue its commitment to working collaboratively with the Government of Canada toward a solution to resolve this new dispute.