Canadian cereals are a hot commodity south of the border, where the $3 billion U.S. market for this country’s cereals-based products is highly integrated. Despite the current trade climate in which tariff uncertainty has become the norm, this demand remains strong for a range of reasons.

The non-stop tariff talk has been dizzying to say the least. For those keeping score at home, U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly announced levies on Canada, but also on practically every major economy on earth.

The push to pass Bill C-282 is a troubling development for Canada’s position as a global trade leader. With this legislation, Canada’s supply managed sectors, namely chicken, dairy, eggs, hatching eggs and turkey, would be exempt from trade negotiations. For Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) and the 70,000 grain farmers it represents, it undermines the critical role of international trade in sustaining Canada’s agriculture sector and the broader economy. Grain farmers export well more than half of what they produce. Our products—cereals, oilseeds and pulses—feed families around the world and generate billions for Canada’s economy. Simultaneously, most Canadian grain farmers rely on trade to sell their crops, with greater than 70 per cent of what they produce being exported. For farmers, loss of market access brings with it shrinking margins, unsold crops and growing uncertainty about the future.

With updated legally binding grain declarations in place for Western Canada’s farmers, it’s important to remember that the delivery of grain has been given a new layer of complexity.