La Crosse, WI – Today, Rep. Ron Kind released the following statement after U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) panel agreed with the United States that Canada is breaching its USMCA commitments and undermining the ability of American farmers and producers to sell a wide range of products to Canadian consumers in the first dispute settlement panel proceeding ever brought under Chapter 31 of the USMCA.
“After calling for these enforcement measures, I commend Ambassador Tai and the Biden Administration for delivering this historic win for our hardworking dairy farmers. This decision will ensure American dairy farmers and producers are able to compete on the even playing field they deserve,” said Rep. Ron Kind. “This outcome is an example of why I spent years working to make sure the USMCA is fully enforceable with a faster dispute settlement process, and I’ll continue to fight to ensure Wisconsin farmers, workers, and families see the full benefits of this bipartisan agreement.”
Earlier this year, Rep. Kind led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack calling on them to move forward with the enforcement measures negotiated in the USMCA to ensure Canada delivered on its obligations under the agreement and brought its dairy tariff-rate quotas into compliance.
He also spent years working to make sure the USMCA is fully enforceable to guarantee increased access to the Canadian dairy market, improve Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, ensure a faster and more enforceable dispute settlement process, and increase labor and environmental standards.
Rep. Kind serves on the Subcommittee on Trade for the Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful – and the oldest – committee in the House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over tax measures, the management of public debt, trade and tariff laws, Social Security, Medicare, pensions, and many other economic growth measures.
