The two sides in Canada’s perpetual agricultural debate between export and protectionist trade interests presented their conflicting prescriptions for a successful world trade negotiation to federal ministers.
It ended six hours later in a round of applause from industry representatives for the opportunity new Conservative trade and agriculture ministers had given them to promote their sector point of view.
There are conflicting reports of what had happened during the intervening time as industry representatives emerged March 14 from a meeting with agriculture minister Chuck Strahl and trade minister David Emerson where strategies were discussed for the crucial coming weeks in World Trade Organization negotiations.
Read Also
Phosphate prices to remain high
Phosphate prices are expected to remain elevated, according to Mosaic’s president.
Impressions of the meeting depended on the point of view of the lobbyist. Everyone agreed debates over market access rules and the fate of supply management over-quota tariffs were the most divisive.
“It is surprising how much agreement there was on the (negotiating) pillars from the entire spectrum,” said Canola Council of Canada corporate affairs vice-president Tyler Bjornson.
“Where we separated was on market access and over-quota tariffs and for the canola industry, that’s not as big a deal. But I see maybe a slight subtle change toward looking for a good deal for Canada rather than just trying to balance the sensitivities (sensitive products) with exports, being a little more forthcoming on that.”
Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance president Liam McCreery said ministers heard clearly that despite the protectionists, “most of the Canadian industry expects an ambitious outcome at the WTO, based on the mandate that was agreed to in 2001.”
For CAFTA, that mandate ensures reductions in all market access barriers including Canadian supply management protections.
Christine Moran, executive director of Grain Growers of Canada, said
afterward she saw agreement in the room for a trade liberalizing agenda: “I didn’t observe a lot of tension. People were making their points but there was a lot of agreement.”
Dairy Farmers of Canada president Jacques Laforge had a different view of at least the beginning of the meeting when he said exporters were insisting that defence of supply management protections was undermining export interests.
“It was an exercise that started in a bizarre way between export interests and supply management interests, but as we talked during the day, more reality came into the picture not to expect too much one way or the other,” he said.
Industry representatives emerging from the first trade discussion with the new Conservative government agreed that with WTO talks working to a tight deadline of an end-of-April agreement outline, the government is late to the process.
But they universally said it is not too late.
“The tough decisions are still to be made,” said Bjornson from the canola council. “You are starting to see signs of movement in various areas. I think it is good timing because now is when the tough decisions will be made.”
But what message did industry deliver to a government looking for a position to take to Geneva?
“They heard the need for an ambitious outcome that benefits trade,” said McCreery from CAFTA.
“The ministers should have a much clearer idea of the opinions of the industry and they are divided,” said Manitoba farm leader David Rolfe, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers.
“It still remains to be seen which approach will be taken. They didn’t give us any indication of the approach.”
Dairy farmer leader Laforge said the new government has choices after the Ottawa meeting.
“I don’t think we have given any direction because there are many directions,” he said.
“It’s up to them to negotiate. We know what we want and there are export interests so they’ll have to make the best of it and make sure that what works in Canada is not undermined.”
