MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – The Canadian consulate in Minneapolis has been beefed up so it can talk more about beef. And pork, grain and everything Canadian that flows down here.
The consulate also tries to make Americans realize that a lot of U.S. products are flowing back into Canada.
“We remind Americans that it really is two-way trade,” said consul general Kim Perry Butler.
“This relationship is important to both of us.”
That may not sound like a contentious statement, but in these days of multiple trade disputes it takes effort to point out that Canada and the U.S. are generally friendly trading partners rather than antagonists.
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“Few Americans are aware of the magnitude of the relationship,” said Butler.
The Canadian consulate was recently upgraded to a consulate general and had its territory shrunk. Now instead of having to cover eight states, it focuses on five: Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and the Dakotas.
A new consulate in Denver covers Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. Concentrating on fewer states allows the Minneapolis consulate to commit more resources to key issues, Butler said.
The consulate general has also added an agricultural specialist to focus on the flow of farm trade between the Canadian West and the U.S. Midwest, a flow that can be seen in the stream of Manitoba hog trucks hauling weanlings down the highway to Iowa and southern Minnesota.
Agricultural specialist Richard
Ulrich has spent a lot of time on the road with Manitoba hog producers trying to be friendly with the Iowa and Midwest pig producers, some of whom supported the trade action against Canada.
And he’s been fighting to make sure Canada’s side of the BSE story isn’t drowned out by rumours.
“With a dedicated agricultural person, we can get out, relate to the farm organizations, the political leadership whether state or federal,” said Ulrich, who previously worked for Agriculture Canada.
“We’re out there trying to allay their fears (about BSE), make sure they understand exactly what the new regulatory impacts have been in Canada and what (Canada) does to make sure the border is safe,” said Ulrich.
Butler said countering myths such as the “wall of cattle” belief among many American producers helps lower the resistance to Canadian products.
Ulrich said the recent hog dispute showed the value of doing groundwork in the U.S., because Canada developed some allies who helped counter opponents of the Canadian industry.
“There’s always a vocal minority that creates a populist atmosphere and has the upper hand for a while,” said Ulrich. “We were able to coalesce a group of American producers around this issue and they can better express the impact on them because they live it every day, than can we as foreigners.”
One of the constant refrains of the Canadian hog industry during the recent dispute was that North America has an integrated hog industry, so gains in one area, such as Manitoba, should not be seen as losses to other areas. The same argument applies to beef.
“We have formidable competitors that are coming on,” said Ulrich, mentioning Brazil and Argentina.
“Canadians really do view an integrated market as the best way to go forward. A lot of U.S. interests see it the same. One of our jobs is to go out and repeat that theme.”
Butler said Canadians need to raise their voices within the U.S. because such an important trading relationship can’t be taken for granted.
“We have to create a balance,” said Butler.
