Grunthal, Man. dairy farmer David Wiens is arranging a trip to Washington as Canadian negotiators try to restart trade talks with the U.S. and Mexico.
Wiens said a bilateral trade agreement announced Monday between the U.S. and Mexico “was a surprise” and he wants to be closer to any new negotiations to get more information about what’s going on.
In Canada, dairy farmers operate under a supply management system which provides stability for producers through production control, pricing mechanisms and import control.
It’s a system which has been continually labelled as unfair to the U.S. by president Donald Trump.
“We are certainly expecting that the government will continue to support supply management,” Wiens told CTV Winnipeg. “We know that they’re facing pressure on this file.”
“We continue to follow these talks very closely. Some of us expect to go to Washington in the next day or two.”
Wiens said it’s hard to know exactly what has been agreed on between Mexico and the U.S. and what it will mean for Canada, but he feels confident the dairy industry won’t be affected.
Still, with pressure on Canada to sign a deal this week Wiens said it’s important for industry representatives to be on the ground.
“They’ve (the Canadian government) been very clear with their response to us,” said Wiens. “I understand there’s going to be pressure on a number of different files.”
