Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is watching closely as Canada rejoins the NAFTA negotiations following Monday's agreement in principle on a bilateral 'US-Mexico Trade agreement'.

Officials with DFC are in Washington this week to oversee the process.

"We will continue to advocate to ensure Canadian dairy farmers not be negatively impacted as a consequence of any trade agreement," said Pierre Lampron, president of DFC.

DFC says Canada's dairy farmers are counting on the Canadian government's leadership to ensure that the right to determine and administer domestic policies continues to be respected. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his support for Canada's supply management system on Tuesday.

A recent Nanos Research poll revealed that the majority of Canadians support the supply management system and almost two in three Canadians think the government should strongly defend the dairy sector during NAFTA negotiations.

Canada currently imports over 10% tariff-free of dairy products consumed in Canada while the US imports about 3% of its dairy consumption.

It was also announced this week that Aaron Fowler is replacing Frédéric Seppey as Canada's new chief agriculture negotiator.