The 11th-hour agreement was announced just before the midnight deadline, following 14 months of difficult negotiations between the Trump administration and Canada. Trump has decided the new trade deal is to be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, or USMCA.
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC), the national policy, lobbying and promotional organization representing Canada’s 12,965 dairy farms released a statement by Pierre Lampron, President of DFCimmediately after the trade deal was announced: “We have been informed of the conclusion of an agreement between Canada and the United States for a renewed free-trade accord. Granting an additional market access of 3.59% to our domestic dairy market, eliminating competitive dairy classes and extraordinary measures to limit our ability to export dairy products will have a dramatic impact not only for dairy farmers but for the whole sector. This has happened, despite assurances that our government would not sign a bad deal for Canadians. We fail to see how this deal can be good for the 220,000 Canadian families that depend on dairy for their livelihood.”
US officials say the deal provides the US increased access to Canada’s dairy producers and limits the American impact of Canada’s controversial supply management system for dairy and poultry products.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would only say it was a “good day for Canada” as he left a late-night cabinet meeting in Ottawa that included frantic late-night conference calls between the Prime Minister’s Office near Parliament Hill and the White House in Washington.
In Ottawa, PMO officials said there would be another cabinet meeting Monday and a news conference likely as well. However, Trump was so giddy with excitement, he immediately took to Twitter to praise what he called the “historic” deal.
“It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our farmers and manufacturers, reduces trade barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three great nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world,” he tweeted. “The USMCA is a historic transaction!”
Social media has a field day with USMCA
The tweets tell it all, especially when Trump’s love of anything military is taken into account. What does USMCA look like to you?
So USMCA. Help me with the pronunciation. Is is *us-im-ca* or *use-simcha* or *use-muck-a* or just sing-songy like Village People *YMCA*? uCvcXmtM1X
— Rhona Raskin (@RhonaRaskin) October 1, 2018
So USA, Canada & Mexico have a new NAFTA or USMCA or better known as the YMCA… The Yankee , Mexican & Canadian Agreement. phVTSjfXTQ
— Mark Trowman (@marktrowman) October 1, 2018
