The Canadian Animal Industry Corn Users wants the Canadian government to provide the necessary support to ensure the survival of agriculture until [someone] finds the fix. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal ended the collection of provisional countervail and antidumping duties on imported U.S. grain corn after determining the imports do not threaten the Canadian corn industry.
The AICU, a coalition of the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Pork Council, suggests, while the problems prompting Canadian corn growers to start the challenge still exist, they need global attention. AICU General Manager Kathleen Sullivan says duties may seem to make sense in the short run, ultimately they hurt all of agriculture. “We don’t just compete in Canada,” said Sullivan. “A lot of our customers, like the pork and the cattle producers, compete in world markets and that means we need a level playing field between Canada and competitors.”
The Canadian government really needs to look at the world markets, what other countries are doing to support their agricultural sectors and then match that support. “If [that’s a big if] we have other countries showing more support for their commodities and their agricultural groups then we basically have to do the same,” she said. Sullivan maintains the only way for agriculture to survive in Canada is if everyone cooperates. “Clearly the time has come for industry to come together with government to find solutions.”