Agriculture ministers from North America are meeting in Colorado this week against the backdrop of uncertain North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations in Washington, D.C.
Saskatchewan minister Lyle Stewart said discussions in Denver will most certainly focus on trade.
“That’s always the topic of conversation at the Tri-National Accord and we think it’s particularly important that we’re there this year in the midst of NAFTA negotiations,” he said last week.
The United States and Mexico represent Saskatchewan’s first and fifth-largest export destinations.
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Exports to the U.S. account for $3.5 billion annually, while sales to Mexico total $623 million including $39 million worth of canola oil.
Stewart said wheat trade is of particular concern and will likely be raised at both NAFTA and Tri-National talks.
The U.S. is Canada’s major destination for wheat. But when U.S. wheat enters Canada, it doesn’t meet certain criteria in the Canadian grading system and is automatically graded at the lowest possible grade or feed.
“In a lot of cases that’s not fair,” Stewart said. “The U.S. has been pretty unhappy about this for a while. We’ve asked the federal government, and through them the grain commission, to try to find a path so the U.S. imports into Canada can be treated more fairly because our large wheat exports to the U.S. may hang in the balance.”
He added there will be other issues discussed at the Tri-National that relate to NAFTA, including trade dispute resolution.
He said a dispute settlement mechanism in NAFTA would be a “hill to die on” because of its importance in addressing trade disputes.
“I think we’ll be very strong on that one. I don’t think we can tolerate a weaker one.”
Ontario minister Jeff Leal is leading the Canadian delegation this year. The meetings were first held in 1992 in Puerto Vallarta.
