The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association struck back five years ago after a parliamentary resolution committed the country to preserving supply management protections at all costs in trade negotiations.
CCA delegates approved a 2006 resolution insisting that while supply managed farmers have the right to market product as they wish, their agenda should not be allowed to hurt other sectors dependent on trade.
Last week, members of the association’s domestic agriculture policy committee voted to renew that resolution.
The message was that defense of high tariff protections for import-sensitive sectors such as dairy and poultry should not be allowed to undermine trade goals of export-oriented sectors that want to see reduced protectionism in other markets.
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Exporters argue that Canada’s rigid stance at World Trade Organization talks in defense of supply management protectionism undermines the country’s broader agenda of reducing protectionism in Canada’s export markets.
“The CCA recognizes the choice of supply managed sectors of Canadian agriculture to market their product as they deem best,” the resolution said.
“However, rigid measures to protect Canada’s supply management farmers should not impede the ability of another sector to maintain and grow its profitability.”
Ontario producer John Gillespie, past chair of the Beef Information Centre, said it is a simple question of balance in trade position.
“We don’t want a one-two trade policy, priority number one being that we will support supply management,” he said. “Number two, if we can support the other sectors, we will.”
The 2005 parliamentary resolution was proposed by the Bloc Québécois and supported unanimously by MPs on the eve of a WTO meeting in Hong Kong where Canada was going to be under pressure to accept reductions in supply management tariffs and increases in minimum import levels.
The resolution instructed Canadian negotiators to reject any deal that undermined supply management protections.
Supply management defenders consider the resolution a continuing instruction to negotiators, even though WTO talks have stalled.
Export sectors continue to resent it as an obstruction to progress at the WTO.
In a recent speech to Dairy Farmers of Canada, Canadian chief trade negotiator Gilles Gauthier said defense of supply management protections is not a significant impediment to WTO progress.
Much larger issues stand in the way of a deal between developed and developing countries, he said. The sensitive product debate is just one of a dozen disputes and far from the most contentious.
