OTTAWA – Canada’s hog exporters are in line for a rebate of more than $25 million in the wake of an American government ruling last week that its countervail duties were too high during the three years ending in March, 1994.
Some of the money will go to hog marketing boards in the three prairie provinces and some will go to private exporters, said Martin Rice of the Canadian Pork Council.
But the positive impact will go beyond those getting back money they deposited before they could ship into the U.S. market.
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“I think everybody will agree it should have some positive impact on the price,” said Rice. “Psychologically, the countervail has had a dampening effect.”
The countervail duty has applied for years because the U.S. International Trade Tribunal and commerce department has determined that various Canadian support programs have unfairly subsidized hogs grown for export.
But as Canada has been cutting subsidies, the U.S. has been slow to re-examine its duty level to reflect changed support levels.
Canada and the Canadian hog industry have been pressing for speedier reviews.
Last week, the U.S. announced the results of its review of the years 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1993-94.
It concluded it had required a higher duty deposit during those years than Canadian subsidies warranted.
Rate allowable
The duty deposit required on live swine exports during those years was 20 cents per kilogram. U.S. commerce department officials have announced the actual rate for the three years should have been 6.01 cents, 6.13 cents and 1.06 cents.
Rice predicted that soon, the duty level should fall to near zero and cease to be a factor. “There is a lot of hope we’ll see it within six months.”
While frustrated by the slow American movement, pork council president Jim Smith from Innisfail, Alta., said the new live hog countervail rate is less than one percent of the market value of hogs.
“This trend should lead to the elimination altogether of the countervailing duty as commerce catches up with the current reality of the termination in Canada of government programs for hog producers,” he said in a statement released from the Ottawa head office.
