Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) says its deeply disappointed that concessions were made on the dairy sector to conclude the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which will replace NAFTA.

This after Canada gave up access in two previous trade agreements, CETA and the CPTPP. DFC says those deals sacrificed the equivalent of a quarter of a billion dollars annually in dairy production to industries in other countries.

“The announced concessions on dairy in the new USMCA deal demonstrates once again that the Canadian government is willing to sacrifice our domestic dairy production when it comes time to make a deal," DFC President Pierre Lampron said in a statement. “The government has said repeatedly that it values a strong and vibrant dairy sector – they have once again put that in jeopardy by giving away more concessions."

DFC says the livelihood of thousands of Canadians and future generations of dairy producers is seriously at risk, adding the USMCA agreement is opening the gate even further by letting foreign products, made according to inferior standards onto the shelves of Canadian grocery stores.

“Today, the message sent to our passionate, proud and quality-conscious farmers and all the people who work in the dairy sector is clear: they are nothing more than a bargaining chip to satisfy President Trump,” added Lampron.

Its being reported that American dairy producers will have access to 3.59 per cent of Canada’s dairy market, which is slightly higher than what was agreed to under the CPTPP. It's also said that class 7 will be eliminated, a class that governs milk ingredients including skim milk powder and milk proteins.