The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is once again the most contentious issue in terms of Canadian trade and that certainly includes the full range of agricultural commodities.
The long-standing trade deal is back at the negotiators鈥� table thanks to the protectionist American president Donald Trump. Trump clearly has it in his mind that no one in the past number of years has been able to negotiate a trade deal which provides the U.S. with the clear upper hand. He has set out to rectify that by opening up NAFTA.
Of course a well-constructed trade deal should be one of give, and take, with the ultimate result 小蓝视频 freer access and better trade back and forth between the signatories. In the case of NAFTA, while no one country is likely to think it the best deal, has at least set a framework which has in-part limited disputes, and in worst-case scenarios provided avenues in regard to dispute resolution.
Trump鈥檚 decision has put the deal in jeopardy, with all three signatories, Canada, the United States and Mexico, posturing they could walk away from the table and leave the three countries without a trade deal. While such boisterous posturing is clearly part of the 鈥榞ame鈥� when it comes to negotiation, it ultimately does no one much good. There is little likelihood a deal won鈥檛 get done. The question is much more about what a new deal might look like.
If Trump鈥檚 negotiators carry the day, and as the big market they do carry a hammer of sorts, it will be a deal far less palatable to Canada and Mexico, and that is not good news in this country.
Canadian farmers have always found themselves at odds with their American counterparts with repeated trade challenges over hogs, wheat, the old Canadian Wheat Board and concerns regarding supply management. To think those issues will resolve with a new NAFTA deal is folly. In fact, Canada is likely to lose some of what it has had, with the most likely area to lose 小蓝视频 the aforementioned supply managed sectors.
A recent Reuters article suggested Mexico wants to boost agricultural exports to Canada and the United States, including chicken, eggs and dairy products, through the NAFTA negotiations. That is not good news for Canadian producers, and frankly not exactly something consumers should be happy about either. In a world where consumers worry over a range of food issues it is hard to think anyone can see milk produced in Mexico and shipped over a vast continent to arrive 鈥榝resh鈥� in our stores as making much sense.
In the end, a new NAFTA deal will get done, but the details may well not be the best news for Canadian producers.
Calvin Daniels is Editor with Yorkton This Week.
