Rep. Costa Calls on USTR to Hold Canada Accountable for USMCA Dairy Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, joined by 74 bipartisan Members of Congress, is calling on U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to hold Canada accountable for failing to meet its dairy commitments under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The letter urges strong enforcement actions ahead of the 2026 review to protect American dairy producers and ensure both fairness and market access for U.S. exporters. 

California is the nation’s top agricultural exporting state, sending $22.4 billion in agricultural products abroad each year. Canada and Mexico account for 24% of those exports—$5.4 billion annually. Dairy is one of California’s most significant export sectors: $2.6 billion of those exports are dairy products alone, and Canada and Mexico purchase 43% of all California dairy exports. With California producing nearly 20% of America’s milk supply and generating $8.61 billion in dairy value, USMCA remains essential for the economic stability of the Central Valley and dairy families across the state. 
 
During USMCA negotiations, Canada agreed to expand market access for U.S. dairy by creating new tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) reserved exclusively for American producers. Instead, Canada has undermined the agreement by allocating most TRQs to Canadian processors, who often have no incentive to import, rather than to retailers, restaurants, or food service providers who have the need and desire for high-quality lower-cost U.S. dairy products. 
 
Canada has further distorted the market by offloading artificially low-priced nonfat milk solids onto the global marketplace, putting downward pressure on prices for U.S. producers. Despite repeated U.S. challenges, Canada has refused to uphold their commitments, making the 2026 review a critical opportunity to strengthen the deal and protect American dairy producers. The letter also highlights the strong gains made with Mexico under USMCA and stresses the importance of preserving that progress. 

In a joint statement, the bipartisan coalition of Members highlighted: 
 
“As a bipartisan group, we remain unified in our belief that the upcoming 2026 review of USMCA represents a critical opportunity to deliver to American dairy farmers, producers, and exporters the market access that was originally promised when the agreement entered into force. USMCA raised the bar for what trade agreements could be, yet Canada has still failed to uphold its dairy commitments. This review is the appropriate mechanism to strengthen enforcement, close loopholes, and ensure that the benefits envisioned under the agreement are fully realized.” 
 
This letter is also supported by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF): 
 
“USMCA is the most important free trade agreement for the U.S. dairy industry and it must be renewed. But ongoing trade concerns with Canada and Mexico must also be rectified as the renewal is being considered. Collaboration between Congress and the Administration is critical to maintain the agreement’s meaningful progress and finally deliver the market access promised to U.S. dairy exporters. IDFA applauds this proactive approach by Members of Congress to help ensure that the review process results in a stronger, fairer USMCA,” said Michael Dykes, President and CEO, IDFA. 
 
“USMCA raised the standard for what a trade agreement could be and promised new opportunities for U.S. dairy farmers. Unfortunately, the Canadian government has continued to evade its dairy trade obligations, and U.S. dairy farmers are not seeing the full benefits USMCA intended. We commend Representatives Tenney, DelBene, Wied, and Costa for championing this effort and working with the Administration to hold our trading partners accountable,” said Gregg Doud, President and CEO, NMPF.  
 
Earlier this Congress, Costa reaffirmed his commitment to fair, science-based trade through his resolution underscoring the need for transparent standards across USMCA partners. He has consistently emphasized that when trade barriers are lowered and rules are followed, producers and consumers in all three countries benefit. 
 
This letter was signed by a bipartisan coalition of the following 74 members of the United States House of Representatives: 

Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Suzan DelBene (WA-1), Tony Wied (WI-8), House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (PA-15), Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (NE-3), Mark Alford (MO-4), Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Don Bacon (NE-2), James Baird (IN-4), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Jack Bergman (MI-1), Sanford Bishop (GA-2), Mike Bost (IL-12), Robert Bresnahan (PA-8), Kat Cammack (FL-3), Mike Carey (OH-15), Earl Carter (GA-1), Ben Cline (VA-6), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Gabe Evans (CO-8), Randy Feenstra (IA-4), Brad Finstad (MN-1), Michelle Fischbach (MN-7), Scott Fitzgerald (WI-5), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Mike Flood (NE-1), Vince Fong (CA-20), Scott Franklin (FL-18), Russ Fulcher (ID-1), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Adam Gray (CA-13), Glenn Grothman (WI-6), Josh Harder (CA-9), Ashley Hinson (IA-2), Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Dusty Johnson (SD-AL), John Joyce (PA-13), Mike Kelly (PA-16), Darin LaHood (IL-16), Doug LaMalfa (CA-13), Nicholas Langworthy (NY-23), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-3), Tracey Mann (KS-1), Addison McDowell (NC-6), Mark Messmer (IN-8), Daniel Meuser (PA-9), Mary Miller (IL-15), Max Miller (OH-7), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-1), John Moolenaar (MI-2), Barry Moore (AL-1), Blake Moore (UT-1), Dan Newhouse (WA-4), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Mark Pocan (WI-2), David Rouzer (NC-7), Derek Schmidt (KS-2), Austin Scott (GA-8), Michael Simpson (ID-2), Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), Greg Stanton (AZ-4), Pete Stauber (MN-8), Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Bryan Steil (WI-1), Greg Steube (FL-17), Mike Thompson (CA-4), Thomas Tiffany (WI-7), David Valadao (CA-22), Derrick Van Orden (WI-3), Gabe Vasquez (NM-2), Tim Walberg (MI-5), and Rudy Yakym (IN-2). 

Click here to read the full letter.