Lino Saputo Jr. said that Canada ‘overshot’ by agreeing to the same dairy quotas despite the U.S. withdrawing from deal.
MONTREAL—The head of Canada’s largest dairy processor is criticizing the federal government’s stance on dairy quotas in the latest version of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Canada was overly generous in the revised TPP by agreeing to the same import quotas for imported cheese that were part of the deal before the United States withdrew last year, said Saputo Inc. chief executive Lino Saputo Jr. during a conference call about its third-quarter results.
“My opinion is I think that Canada overshot.”
The trade deal involving 11 Pacific countries that’s set to be signed next month allocates 3.25 per cent of Canada’s supply-managed dairy sector, or 14.5 million kilograms of cheese or cheese equivalent products, to foreign competition.
That’s the same level included in the first TPP that was expected to be filled largely by American producers.
Saputo said the new quota should have been pro-rated because the United States, with about 325 million people, is no longer involved.
“It’s not an agreement based on close to a billion people, it’s an agreement based on 500 million people but you’re giving the same quota allocation. To me, the numbers don’t make sense,” he said in an interview.