MIDLAND, Ont. – The president-in-waiting for the largest American cattle producers’ organization traveled north last week to proclaim a new era of free trade and a tension-free border between Canada and the United States.
“I’m committed to trade,” said Lynn Cornwell from Glasgow, Montana, president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
But at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association convention where he spoke, trade specialists were quietly pointing out what they saw as a contradiction.
Behind the free trade talk is a push by American cattle producers to deny use of the U.S. official grade stamp on imported beef carcasses.
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“That clearly flies in the face of the principle of free trade,” said British Columbia cattle producer and CCA president John Morrison.
“I take Lynn at his word that he believes in trade, but this clearly does not support that view.”
Cornwell insisted that mainstream American cattle producer groups are committed to free trade and cross-border co-operation.
The next time an American group like R-CALF tries to throw up border blocks by blaming Canadian imports for low U.S. prices, the NCBA will speak out in defence of trade and Canadian producers, he said
“When R-CALF reared its ugly head, we should have been more aggressive in fighting that,” said Cornwell. “I apologize to you for that.”
He did not raise the grading issue in his speech.
The NCBA has been pressuring the American government to dust off a 53-year-old law that prohibits use of the official U.S. grading stamp on imported carcasses.
No grade, less value
Morrison said in an interview that would create a non-tariff trade barrier, since it will discriminate against Canadian beef in the U.S. market. Without an official grading stamp, Canadian carcass beef will become lower-valued “no roll” beef.
CCA leaders said it is almost certain the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop grading Canadian beef this autumn.
Neil Jahnke from Gouldtown, Sask., chair of the CCA foreign trade committee, said it will affect only a small portion of Canada’s beef trade south, but the principle is wrong.
“We’re only talking 50,000 carcasses,” he said. “But it hardly seems like support of free trade.”
Morrison said the Canadian cattle industry could “live with it” because it is such a small volume, but there will be protests when the Americans formally move.
“And of course, we are nervous that if this is done, it could encourage other steps into more significant areas,” he said.
CCA trade officials suggested that it is an election year attempt to give protectionists inside the American cattle industry something to cheer about, since they lost a recent dumping case against Canada.
In an interview after he spoke to the CCA convention, Cornwell said the NCBA is not trying to stir up a trade fight over the grading stamp issue, although he conceded it could be a short-term issue.
But he said the real intention is to eliminate use of grade stamps on all beef. He said there is no need for the grade stamp on foreign or domestic beef. The first step is to eliminate it for imported carcasses.
“Sometimes, things have to be made tense before we can deal with the real issue,” he said. “I guess I’m more
inclined to see some protectionist politics here,” he said.
Cornwell said he also would like to see an even greater flow of feeder cattle north under the restricted feeder program, which saw close to 180,000 head of American feeders shipped into Western Canada last year.
He would like to see expansion of the eligible area and the time when imports are permitted.
However, the NCBA official said rules should be tightened to make sure there are no abuses as reported last year, including shipping cattle north that did not qualify as feeders.
