Strahl is Minister of Agriculture and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board.
IF World Trade Organization members can finalize a trade agreement by the end of this year, Canada’s agriculture and agri-food exporters will have plenty to gain.
They get badly bruised by unfair agricultural subsidies and high tariffs, particularly in the United States and Europe, and a new deal will mean fewer subsidies and more open markets.
An agreement would also be a big step forward for developing countries. These countries badly need stronger economies if the world is going to be a more stable place, and a more stable world is a big Canadian priority.
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We know how vital it is for Canadian exporters that we reach a deal. In 2005, Canada’s agricultural exports amounted to $26.2 billion – fourth in the world. That’s good, but our producers would be doing even better if there weren’t so many unfair barriers standing in their way.
There’s a meeting of trade ministers coming up at the end of the month at the WTO in Geneva. International Trade Minister David L. Emerson and I, accompanied by provincial colleagues and industry representatives, plan to be at that meeting to push for a deal. I’ve also been promoting Canada’s position in recent meetings with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, both important players in the negotiations.
The successful conclusion of the Doha Round of trade negotiations would certainly be of significant benefit to the global economy. If a WTO deal rids the world of some of the worst barriers to agricultural trade, our competitive Canadian industry will pick up its fair share of the benefits. We need a more level playing field to do that and that is why we want this agreement.
At the WTO, Canada is pursuing a range of objectives that will assist our exporters.
For instance, Canada is negotiating in strong support of a tariff reduction formula that would offer our exporters substantially improved market access into key developed and developing countries.
We are also pressing for significant cuts to the trade-distorting domestic subsidies that countries like the United States and the European Union, among others, offer their producers. Canada is pleased that the agriculture negotiations are structured around the concept of the biggest subsidizers making the largest reductions.
We have achieved progress in still other areas as well. WTO members have agreed to eliminate all forms of export subsidies by the end of 2013, with a good part of that reduction to be accomplished sooner rather than later. This will benefit Canada’s exporters and particularly our grains and red meat sectors, when competing against subsidized producers from Europe.
The WTO agriculture negotiations are in an intensive phase. Canada’s negotiators are working with all other WTO members to resolve outstanding issues and reach a deal on detailed rules and commitments for agriculture.
Like all WTO members, Canada has both offensive and defensive interests. Our negotiating position naturally reflects the strength and diversity of our agricultural sector, which includes both export-oriented and supply managed industries. We are vigorously pursuing benefits for Canada, as well as defending interests that are important to us. We are confident that the outcome of these negotiations will result in a more prosperous future for our whole sector.
We are a trading nation and Canada’s active participation at the WTO is fundamental to our interests. Canada has a major stake in ensuring that global agricultural trade is governed by a fair and effective rules-based framework.
Without rules that are fairer than they are now, big countries inevitably end up bullying smaller countries, and just as important, the extraordinary potential of agricultural sectors like Canada’s cannot be maximized.
We need what the WTO has to offer, both in general, and in terms of this agreement. Not enough Canadians realize the value of agriculture to the Canadian economy. At the WTO, we are fighting for the interests of agricultural producers and processors in all parts of Canada and for an industry that benefits all Canadians. And we are fighting hard.
