North American agricultural leaders want fair trade rules to be the top priority in upcoming international negotiations.
Officials from Canada, the United States and Mexico agreed on a common approach to the November talks in Seattle after their annual meeting in Utah July 15-17.
They will all send the same letter to leading federal trade officials in the three countries, urging them to avoid any negotiating strategy that does not provide fair rules or protect the profitability of North American agriculture.
“We are particularly concerned that some of our negotiators favor an ‘early harvest’ strategy, which could mean taking care of the easiest issues first,” said Utah commissioner of agriculture Cary Peterson in a news release.
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“If the result is that the tough agricultural issues never get dealt with, that would be completely unacceptable to our farmers and ranchers.”
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Eric Upshall said the three countries agreed the excessive use of trade- distorting export subsidies by the European Union is hurting North American farmers and must be addressed.
He said the U.S. still argues that it has to subsidize its farmers because the EU does. Upshall used chemical pricing to illustrate why this isn’t working.
Most American chemical prices are substantially higher than in Canada. Upshall said that’s because they are priced for what the market will bear.
“They’re being charged more for their chemicals, so where are the subsidies going?” he asked.
The leaders also discussed bilateral and trilateral issues. They resolved that harmonization of pesticides and animal drugs must be a priority.
They agreed existing international plant and animal health and safety rules “that are based on sound science” should not be changed, and dispute settlement should be made more effective.
They also want quicker resolution to trade problems involving perishable or seasonal products, and say food safety issues related to biotechnology must be based on careful analysis.
Upshall said accord members want to avoid costly trade disputes, and they established three working groups to address irritants.
One group will analyze what past anti-dumping suits have accomplished.
Upshall said this year’s discussion was significant for its focus and honesty around the table.
“We’re actually talking about real issues very bluntly,” he said. “It was a step forward for all three countries at the minister of agriculture level.”
Saskatchewan will host the July 2000 tri-national meeting in Saskatoon.
