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Winter
2018
Grains
West
32
Feature
BY NATALIE NOBLE • IMAGE COURTESY OF CANADA WEST FOUNDATION
High stakes for Canadian ag in global trade negotiations
S CANADIAN TRADE
negotiations continue with
potential global partners,
opportunity for economic growth in
agriculture is greater than ever. The
prospect of modernizing the North
American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) and fully implementing
agreements with large, rapidly
expanding populations in the Trans-
Pacific, the European Union (EU) and
China holds massive opportunity.
NAFTA: 23 YEARS OF GROWTH AND
PROSPERITY
Although NAFTA was on shaky ground
after fourth-round talks in October, trade
between Mexico, the United States and
Canada has vastly increased Canadian
ag industry export dollars since the
agreement’s inception in 1994. With
bilateral agricultural and agri-food trade
reaching C$62 billion in 2016, the United
States is Canada’s largest agricultural
trading partner and Mexico is the fourth-
largest, with C$1.7 billion in agri-food
products exported in 2016.
Alberta Barley chair Jason Lenz said
renegotiation on behalf of the barley
industry is focused on maintaining
current provisions. With the United States
and Mexico respectively the first- and
third- largest Canadian malt importers,
fully integrated trade between the
three nations is critical to the industry,
particularly through duty-free access,
phytosanitary alignment and the
elimination of non-tariff barriers (NTBs).
“We don’t anticipate much change
in the renegotiations where we’re
concerned,” he said. “Barley farmers
are thriving under the agreement, and
the majority of agricultural commodity
industries have been thriving since it
came about.”
Barley farmers want greater
harmonization in the regulation of residue
limits and crop input approvals. Better
synchronization between Canada’s Pest
Management Regulatory Agency and its
sister organization in the United States
could allow for crop inputs—including
herbicides and seed treatments—to
cross the border more easily.
In addition, a low-level presence (LLP)
policy would streamline the trade of new
seed varieties. Common LLP policies
would encourage increased market
access and innovation in both countries
by giving farmers and researchers faster
access to new varieties and technologies.
“The process now happens quite slowly,
or not at all,” said Lenz.
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