Becky Rasdall Vargas, trade policy expert at the International Dairy Foods Association, says the European Union’s new due-diligence requirements are increasing the costs for U.S. dairy farmers and processors. “We shouldn’t be adhering to European rules,” she says. “We should be adhering to US rules.”

Rasdall Vargas added that the industry is already feeling the impact of the measures. “Just based on stoppage time in a plant, the hours involved, and the fees associated with these additional audits, we’re close to about $30 million a year.”

The EU is the eighth largest export market for U.S. dairy products.