Farm lobbyists and industry officials last week told MPs they support Canada’s free trade deal with Chile, which is scheduled to take effect in June.
“We endorse any governmental initiative that expands international market opportunities for prairie agriculture,” Gordon Pugh of Prairie Pools Inc. told the Common foreign affairs committee last week. “The Canada-Chile FTA (free trade agreement) provides an expansion of market opportunities and we therefore endorse it.”
Caution from CFA
Jack Wilkinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, was a bit more cautious in his endorsement of legislation implementing the deal.
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“In general terms, we are in favor of freer trade agreements,” he said.
However, the Chilean deal creates one major concern for the CFA, he said.
The two countries have agreed to phase out their ability to use anti-dumping retaliation if products are being sold unfairly at prices below domestic levels.
Canada has said it wants to try to extend that throughout the North American Free Trade Agreement membership. Trade minister Art Eggleton said last week Canada already has approached Mexico with the proposal.
Wilkinson said this is not good news for farmers.
While anti-dumping penalties can be misused by other countries as trade barriers, it often is the only weapon fruit and vegetable growers have when they are faced with a flood of cheap imports.
“They don’t have much time and in the absence of anti-dump, they have no effective way to fight back,” said Wilkinson. “It is absolutely inappropriate (to end it) until you put other measures in place.”
He predicted the Americans will not be interested in dropping their right to use anti-dumping duties as a trade protection.
He also suggested the federal government relax its search for new free trade deals until it figures out its long-term trade goals. Sometimes, signing deals becomes the ad hoc trade policy.
“We think it is incumbent on the government to chart its course, rather than just sign deals,” he said.
Wilkinson’s caution made little impact on the Liberal majority on the committee, which will approve the legislation.
Liberal Michel Dupuy called the agreement to end anti-dumping sanctions “a precedent breakthrough” which should be preserved.
Barrier-free access
Eggleton also heralded the agreement to end anti-dumping. “This will further guarantee barrier-free access for Canadian exports to Chile and contribute to making further progress in reforming and eventually eliminating anti-dumping measures within the NAFTA,” he told the committee.
The trade minister noted that the deal will improve access for Canadian grain, oilseed products, beef, pork and some lentils.
Chile also agreed in a letter that if it negotiates better grain access agreements with other countries, Canada will automatically be given the benefit of the increased access.
