With supplies of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and other dairy proteins already tight, President Trump’s ban on all whey proteins from Canada could make a bad situation worse.

As you probably saw, trade negotiations between the U.S. and Canada fell apart on Aug. 22, and Trump used presidential authority to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian hockey sticks, wine and other goods, charging Canada with longstanding trade discrimination.

Canada retaliated Sept. 8 with $20 billion of tariffs on U.S. imports, targeting steel, dairy, farm equipment, pulp and paper, electronics and more. The U.S. counter-retaliated the same day with outright bans on whey products, molasses, alcoholic beverages (and non‑alcoholic beer), motorcycles and mopeds, all of which will go into effect Sept. 29.

As we reported back in July, this country’s obsession with protein has created more demand than supply of key ingredients, with the price of whey protein concentrate, the most widely used protein additive, double what it was two years ago. USDA reports say WPC 34% was consistently selling for less than $1 per pound through August of 2024, but the price neared $2 a pound this July.

Not only is that a huge expense, it may be inhibiting some new product launches.

The International Dairy Foods Assn. (IDFA) urged both sides “to return to constructive negotiations to resolve longstanding dairy trade concerns following a new U.S. ban on imports of certain whey and modified whey products from Canada.

“The United States imported more than $35 million in whey products from Canada last year. While the concerns about Canadian protein pricing policies continue to remain unresolved, an import ban will not address these underlying issues. IDFA strongly urges Canadian and U.S. officials to return to regular, constructive negotiations as soon as possible."

However, the dairy associations more representative of dairy farmers on Aug. 24 expressed “strong” support for the administration’s efforts “to resolve outstanding U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dairy market access issues with Canada.” The National Milk Producers Federation and U.S. Dairy Export Council claim Canada has never lived up to dairy import commitments made in the USMCA.