December 11th, 2019 – Ottawa – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is pleased with yesterday’s agreement by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to sign an amended version of the new North American free trade deal in Mexico City. Canadian farmers have been facing many challenges over the last two years and the lack of a renewed NAFTA only added to these stresses.
The signed agreement provides more stability with our largest trading partners. It is the hope of the CFA that the renegotiated pact can finally be ratified and provide greater opportunities for our sectors that depend on the US and Mexican markets for their well-being. NAFTA and now CUSMA play a significant role in our integrated supply chain and speedy ratification is needed to re-establish market certainty.
“CFA calls on all federal parties to quickly ratify the amended CUSMA. However, the CFA also reminds all parties that the concessions made by Canada for supply-managed products will once again negatively impact farmers in these sectors. The government needs to ensure that programs will be introduced to mitigate these loss of markets, and that it doesn’t concede any more market access in any future trade agreements” said Keith Currie, 1st Vice-President, CFA.
“Furthermore, Canada agreed to place a world-wide cap on exports of certain dairy products in the CUSMA, which is unprecedented in regional trade agreements. As the nation’s prosperity depends on reliable access to global markets, Canada must not agree to this kind of provision in any future trade agreement” added Currie
The CFA wants to ensure our government recognizes the critical importance that Canadian agriculture plays in our Canadian economy, which contributes over $143B to our GDP. Trade agreements that impact our industry and specific agricultural sectors need to reflect how our government will position Canadian agriculture for future growth.