Dairy organizations join agriculture groups at Capitol to underscore importance of USMCA

After traveling across the country in support of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the Farmers for Free Trade Motorcade for Trade made a final stop today in front of the U.S. Capitol. There, the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), both headquartered in Arlington, Va., said they joined other agriculture groups and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle at a rally to tout the trade benefits of USMCA. USDEC and NMPF are both members of Farmers for Free Trade and have been actively involved in this motorcade campaign, which included stops at multiple dairy farms.

Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC, addressed the rally and touted the improvements USMCA makes to NAFTA. In addition to other agriculture sector benefits in the agreement, USMCA includes several provisions that will greatly benefit the U.S. dairy industry. It secures the valuable relationship U.S. dairy shares with Mexico while establishing new protections for common cheese names. It also makes important changes to Canada’s trade-distorting dairy policies, the organizations said, while also opening new opportunities for U.S. dairy exports to Canada.