Livestock groups celebrated last week after the Canadian International Trade Tribunal ruled that imports of U.S. grain corn are not causing injury to Canada’s corn industry.
But corn growers warned that the challenge to those imports may not be over. A spokesperson for Canadian Corn Producers said the group will wait for the reasons for the CITT’s decision to be published and may consider an appeal to the tribunal or a judicial review through federal court.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” said Brian Doidge, reacting to the decision. “(Corn) prices are far below the cost of production, so we have a lot of very angry, frustrated and extremely disappointed producers in Canada today.”
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Livestock groups said they sympathize with the difficulties of corn growers, but they insisted that a trade action against imports of unprocessed U.S. grain corn was not the answer. They would rather see the federal government increase income supports to Canadian farmers while the country negotiates for fairer trade through the World Trade Organization.
“We have to find better solutions to stay competitive in this world until things are fixed, until we are globally on a level playing field,” said Edouard Asnong, Canadian Pork Council first vice-president.
A preliminary duty of $1.65 US a bushel was imposed last December as a result of the corn trade action. The decision last week meant the removal of those duties. Money already collected is to be refunded.
Asnong said the trade action caused uncertainty for Canada’s hog industry. That led to delays in building more finishing barns and hog processing plants.
If the tariff had become permanent, it would have put Canada’s cattle feeding industry at a disadvantage, said Ian McKillop, a director for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. American cattle feeders would have gained a price advantage on feed, he said, resulting in more cattle going south for finishing.
“We certainly had some concerns about the long-term implications if there was a duty placed on U.S. imported corn.
“If the price of corn in Ontario was substantially higher than the price in the U.S., it would lead to a real cost disparity in the cost of production that would potentially allow the U.S. cattle feeder to bid more for Canadian cattle.”
The reasons for the tribunal’s decision are expected to be released May 3.
Canadian Corn Producers, a coalition of corn producer associations from Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario, said the tribunal’s finding of no injury came as a surprise after it had a preliminary finding of injury and after the Canada Border Services Agency concluded that almost all U.S. grain corn imports were dumped and subsidized into Canada.
