Federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief says a new U.S. farm bill
could derail international negotiations aimed at reducing protectionism
and trade-distorting subsidies.
American politicians are locked in tense negotiations over details of
the new bill.
During a day of speeches and lobbying in Washington, D.C., on April 10,
Vanclief warned that proposals to add more than $100 billion Cdn in new
farm support spending over the next decade flies in the face of logic
and American promises for a new World Trade Organization deal on
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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
agricultural support.
At the WTO negotiation launch in Doha, Qatar, last November, the U.S.
joined other countries in committing to reduce agricultural market
distortions.
“Doha was an important step forward for those who support greater
international understanding, co-operation and freer trade among
nations,” Vanclief said in a speech to an agricultural conference.
“But the message we are bringing you here today in Washington is that
the provisions of the farm bill as it currently stands risk moving us
backwards.”
During a later news conference from Washington, the minister said a law
authorizing higher American subsidies could jeopardize WTO
negotiations, which are optimistically slated to wrap up by the end of
2004.
“The U.S. could use it to drag out a new (WTO) round,” he said.
“But if they do that, it will continue to raise the concern of many
other countries that they are not walking their talk.”
It was a message that Vanclief, a delegation of farm leaders and a
smattering of other federal politicians took to Washington in a one-day
lobby blitz.
But with the farm bill negotiation between the House of Representatives
and the Senate in its final stages, Vanclief conceded his words would
have little impact on the final outcome.
Politicians have already agreed to boost spending. The debate is over
how to spend and how quickly.
Vanclief said it would be “naive” to imagine that foreigners would be
able to significantly influence a domestic farm bill debate.
But he said it is important to continue to argue that increased subsidy
is bad policy and harmful to Canada.
“I think our timing here is appropriate,” he said.
“Can we change the minds of anyone on everything? I don’t know, but we
have an obligation to make sure our voices are heard.”
Vanclief’s lobby efforts were mainly aimed at the industry and media in
the American capital, since few senior politicians agreed to see him.
The visit was supposed to happen in March, but an uproar over
congressional complaints that it was inappropriate for a foreign
politician to lobby on domestic American policy delayed it. Vanclief’s
office said he was not able to arrange appropriate high-level meetings
in March.
But last week, his only “high level” political meetings were with
Republican senator Chuck Grassley of the Senate finance committee and
Claude Allen, deputy secretary of health and human services.
In his speech to an agricultural issues conference organized by Sparks
Companies Inc., Vanclief said the U.S. sets benchmark commodity prices
and that domestic subsidies depress those prices.
“President (George) Bush and U.S. agricultural leaders have insisted
that the farm bill must be consistent with international obligations
and should not work against American farmers in the international
marketplace,” he said. “Yet even some leading analysts are now raising
doubts about whether the proposed bill before Congress would contravene
the WTO.”
He said Canadian objections range from country-of-origin meat labelling
proposals to higher price-based support programs.
“Studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others have also
confirmed that this increased spiraling of subsidies ends up working
against farmers,” Vanclief said.
“Excessive support causes overproduction, which in turn depresses
prices and prompts demands for yet more support. So the cycle
continues, and in the meantime, programs become capitalized into
inflated land values.”
He said the result is a lack of diversification and innovation.
Still, even Vanclief and his entourage conceded his words of caution
likely were drowned out by calls from U.S. farm lobbyists to legislate
the new subsidies as soon as possible.
