Government says it's adhering to the terms of the trade agreement.Ottawa—Donald Trump's dislike for Canada's supply management system manifested itself during the CUSMA negotiations and his administration has taken a parting shot at it.It filed a request for consultations with Canada over how it distributed quotas on imports of U.S. dairy products. Trump officials, backed by the dairy industry, complain that a large share of the import quotas have been allocated to processors rather than producers, effectively denying U.S. farmers their fair share of the Canadian market.That position misrepresents what Ottawa openly said it would do during the CUSMA negotiations--allocate much of the lower-tariff import quotas to processors not retailers.The logic behind the Canadian move was that processors would bring in products they don't make while retailers will import whatever they think will sell best with no concern about the impact on farmers supplying milk to the processors. Or as the Dairy Processors of Canada (DPAC) puts it, “have no vested interest in value creation in the dairy sector.” The sharing of the import quotas is on the public record in considerable detail.DPAC says Canadian dairy processors need the vast majority of CUSMA's dairy import quotas to help them remain viable and meet the enormous challenges that lie ahead.The Trump protest came as no surprise and with President-elect Joe Biden considered a protectionist, Canada-US trade relations may be in for another bumpy ride like it is over Canada's softwood lumber exports to the US.Trade Minister May Ng says Canada is respecting the terms of CUSMA and the government will stand up for the dairy sector.Jacques Lefebvre, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Canada, said the quota “allocations by the federal government are consistent with the terms of the agreement. Anyone who reads the text of CUSMA would see this, but the outgoing administration may feel that, by taking this approach, it will endear itself with family-owned dairy farms in the US.”The Trump administration's claim that American dairy producers were being unfairly shut out of Canadian markets repeats a regular gripe from the U.S. Dairy Export Council, which thinks the US should have unfettered access to the Canadian market. Its President is Tom Vilsack, reported to be Biden's nominee to be Agriculture Secretary, a post he held in the Obama administration.If the consultations between Washington and Ottawa don't resolve the matter, the US could request a dispute resolution panel be created to study the issue. The US tried to get rid of dispute panels during the CUSMA negotiations.While the US likes to complain about Canada's supply managed system for dairy and poultry, it doesn't acknowledge that Canadian farmers in those sectors don't get government subsidies while American dairy farmers get about half their income from Washington, the OECD says.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.