(OTTAWA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is applauding today’s announcement by Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl that his government will pursue negotiations under Article 28 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to limit the importation of milk protein concentrates. The decision was announced at the annual meeting of the Dairy Farmers of Canada at the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.

“This is very good news for Canadian dairy producers,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “And more than that it shows this government is still strongly committed to measures that support our vital marketing tools like supply management.”

Canadian producers have been very concerned about the growing use of imported milk protein concentrates which can be used to replace Canadian-produced milk in dairy products like cheese. Milk protein concentrates are not covered by the tariffs that allow the dairy industry to maintain predictable imports, one of the three pillars of the supply management system. Uncontrolled importation of these concentrates would interfere with that pillar and disrupt the effective functioning of supply management in dairy.

By invoking Article 28 the government can renegotiate Canada’s tariffs under the WTO and establish tariff-rate quotas to handle milk protein imports. Using Article 28 is well within Canada’s rights and obligations under current WTO regulations.

CFA also welcomes the Minister’s announcement the CFIA will begin a regulatory process to address the compositional standards for cheese, working from the recommendations of the moderator of the Dairy Industry Working Group.

“As with last month’s announcement of the request for negotiations on U.S. corn subsidies, the federal government is showing leadership and making another strong move to defend the interests of Canadian farmers,” said Friesen.'

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.