OTTAWA – The future of Canada’s supply management system of farm protection will be decided late this year in a trade panel ruling.
The Canadian government and the supply managed farm sectors that regulate production through industry-run boards are bracing for an American assault this summer on their wall of tariff protection.
They are convinced they will win.
“We will defend our position very, very vigorously,” agriculture minister Ralph Goodale said. “We sincerely believe we are right.”
John Core, head of the Ontario milk marketing board, reinforced the point, urging Ottawa not to negotiate and not to concede any points to the Americans.
Read Also
Land crash warning rejected
A technical analyst believes that Saskatchewan land values could be due for a correction, but land owners and FCC say supply/demand fundamentals drive land prices – not mathematical models
“We are going to have to fight, to remain strong and defend our interests,” he told a Commons committee.
Challenge planned
Last week in Toronto, the United States government gave formal 30-day notice that it plans to challenge Canada’s tariffs through a North American Free Trade Agreement disputes settlement panel. The panel could be requested as early as July 7 with hearings and a judgment late in the year.
Although aimed at supply management, the challenge also could include Canadian tariffs on barley and margarine imports. If the Americans win, the high tariffs established by Canada this year to protect dairy, poultry and egg producers from cheap American competition would be abolished. This would open those sectors to unfettered, and often subsidized, American competition.
Canada set the tariff levels, as high as 350 percent for some dairy products, under the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade that ended Canada’s right to set quantitative import controls. The Americans say that under the rules of the NAFTA, new tariffs are not allowed.
Last week, Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson said Canada already gave away enough in world and North American trade negotiations.
“Our position has been that you cannot negotiate with the Americans because they will be back in 24 hours wanting more out of you,” he said. “We figure we already gave our pint of blood at the office.”
