Ambassador sticks up for Canadian farmers again

Ambassador David MacNaughton has once again intervened with American politicians to set the record straight on Canadian agriculture policy.

In a letter to 10 U.S. Senators as well as senior ministers in Washington and Ottawa, MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., says claims Canada has wrongfully denied access to American poultry “is simply inaccurate.” Earlier this year, he pointed out factual errors in charges by senators and governors about Canada’s new class of industrial milk. It has become a whipping boy for American problems with dairy overproduction.

“Canada is the second largest market for U.S. poultry and egg exports, which have grown by 209 per cent since NAFTA came into force,” he said. “In 2016, the U.S. exported US $661 million in poultry and eggs to Canada. This translates into a US$246 million trade surplus, which supports jobs and economic activities that proportionately benefit the states” of the senators addressed in the letter.

The 10 senators supported claims by American poultry groups that Canada is wrongfully denying the U.S. poultry industry significant access contrary to NAFTA especially compared to comparable markets.

The senators complained about Canada’s quotas for U.S. poultry exports in making their case, noting that exports in excess of the quota are subject to a 249 percent tariff. In a letter to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council and the National Turkey Federation, the U.S. poultry and egg industry expected NAFTA to eventually remove barriers Canada imposed via its supply management system.

Despite these restrictions, the poultry groups laud NAFTA as a success, saying Mexico and Canada are the U.S.’ first- and second-largest market for poultry exports, respectively.

“When NAFTA came into force, the U.S. industry believed that those limits would eventually be eliminated, but discovered subsequently that Canada would continue to impose its supply-control limitations,” the groups said. “The U.S. industry has been disappointed that, while virtually all other product sectors enjoy totally free trade under NAFTA, poultry remains the exception.”

Canada made it clear when NAFTA was being negotiated in 1993 that it would protect its supply-management system, which was approved by the World Trade Organization. MacNaughton said the current government will continue to stand up for Canadian farmers and workers.

“As we look for ways to increase our mutual trade and competitiveness, it is important to remember how successful our relationship already is,” he said. “Let’s keep a good thing growing.” They wanted similar access for turkey because current quotas are “very small and increased market liberalization is warranted.”

The Canadian, American and Mexican agriculture ministers have “issued a joint statement highlighting the level of integration and success of the North American agriculture relationship,”

MacNaughton said. “This cooperation and commitment to rules-based trade is essential to facilitating trade around the world.”

The poultry groups said the preliminary agreement on a Trans-Pacific Pact trade deal would have increased quotas U.S. chicken into Canada,” the poultry groups said. However President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal.