AgWired

A day doesn’t pass by where someone isn’t reporting on trade agreements and trade negotiations. A farmer commentator sent me this piece on what he thinks trade should be. Rolf Penner raises hogs, grain and special crops at Morris, MB.

“While any kind of a trade deal is a good deal, some are better than others. Everyone seems to be getting on the Bi-lateral bandwagon lately thinking that we can do better with them,” said Penner. “Those people are wrong. The Canadian marketplace is only 30 million people, peanuts in Global terms. Moreover, we are the number three exporting country in the world with almost half of our GDP coming from exports: That means we are highly competitive on those products. The U.S. has 300 million people and heavily import dependant, there is a reason people want to get into that marketplace.”

Admitting trade is a two way street, one has to get something, but also offer something in return. The Canadian marketplace does not have that much to offer. “That is one reason why multi-lateral agreements like the WTO ones are far more promising because we can team up with other countries to work on market access into those big global markets,” he said. “Bi-laterals are good, but they are no substitute for multi-lateral agreements.”

There’s one other case in point. When relying so heavily on a single bilateral trade agreement, for instance like lumber, and the giant doesn’t adhere to it, we have a giant problem: Economic withdrawal.
In my opinion, let’s shoot for the big one, the WTO and see if we can’t be a small fish in a big pond.

Siemens Says

It’s a trade war. One that really doesn’t matter to the Americans and puts one ag sector against the other in Canada. I can’t believe how we are so prone to shoot ourselves in the foot. Be that as it may. The Canadian Pork Council will press for the elimination of countervail and antidumping duties on imported unprocessed U.S. grain corn when the Canadian International Trade Tribunal begins pubic hearings next week.

In December, the Canada Border Services Agency found evidence the Americans were dumping subsidized U.S. grain corn into Canada and imposed provisional antidumping and countervailing duties totaling $1.65 US per bushel on the imports. Two days ago the CBSA reaffirmed that decision, indicating the provisional duties will remain until the Canadian International Trade Tribunal concludes its injury investigation.
Canadian Pork Council Executive Director Martin Rice says corn users will argue to eliminate those duties when the CITT conducts public hearings. “Regardless of any improvement in the duty rate we will still take a full investigation of the final injury investigation to challenge the injury claim and to prevent the duty from becoming permanent,” said Rice. “We have seen corn imports actually decline during this period of investigation so the argument the imported corn is creating injury from changes in imported corn is simply not easily substantiated.”

The CPC’s arguments will say increased corn imports have not adversely affected the corn prices to Canadian corn producers. If the Canadian International Trade Tribunal finds the imports harm Canadian corn growers, the duties will become permanent. However, if it finds no injury, the duties will stop. The CBSA will refund duties already collected and the case will end. The CITT will begin public hearings in Ottawa March 20 and make a decision by April 18.

Siemens Says