The United States’ pork industry lowered the temperature Aug. 17 on its implied threat to challenge Canada’s proposal to help the Canadian industry.
At a news conference in Washington, National Pork Producers Council president Don Butler said the aid announcement by agriculture minister Gerry Ritz Aug. 15 appears to be less market distorting than original Canadian pork industry requests.
“It appears that the type of assistance being discussed now is not as troubling for us as the original proposals,” he told reporters in a teleconference.
“But we’re still awaiting details. We don’t yet know all the particulars.”
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Ritz promised a program that would make $75 million available for industry contraction and a government loan guarantee program for producers who can convince a private sector lender that they are a viable business with a business plan that would justify taking on more debt.
At his announcement in Manitoba, Ritz said the loan program could make $800 million or more available to the industry in government-guaranteed loans.
In an Aug. 17 interview, NPPC vice-president for international trade Nick Giordano said the key difference is the business viability test.
“We do not have all the details yet but I think the criteria that money will only be available to producers with viable businesses reduces what we see as a distortion of the market and production,” he said.
On Aug. 17, the NPPC proposed that the United States government increase spending to take surplus pork off the market in an attempt to boost prices.
They argued several weeks ago that the Canadian proposal then being considered would artificially keep some producers in business, increasing production and hurting North American prices.
The NPPC said that would be challengeable under trade and anti-subsidy rules.
