How milk could spur a trade war with Canada

A cow chews its cud.
A cow chews its cud as it munches on grass at the Neal and Karen Klaphake farm near Melrose, Minn.
Kimm Anderson | AP 2016

MinnPost reporter Sam Brodey recently wrote a story detailing how the Trump administration may be setting up a trade war with Canada — over milk. He joined MPR News host Tom Weber to discuss what that would mean for Minnesota.

As Brodey writes: "In 2014, Minnesota exported $322 million worth of dairy: nearly a quarter of that went to Mexico, while 10 percent went to China and eight percent went to Canada. Why does more Minnesota dairy end up on refrigerator shelves in China than in those across the border in Canada? It's because Canada is notorious for tightly controlling its dairy industry with a supply management system that closely matches dairy supply with demand through strict quotas and price controls."

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