Minister's Column
The WTO Agriculture Negotiations:
Fighting for a Fair Deal
By Chuck Strahl,
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food
and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board
June 2006
The fact that Canada is the world's fourth-largest agricultural exporter is one very good reason why getting a new global agreement on agricultural trade is so vital to Canadians. Not just for Canada's farmers, but for all Canadians.
In 2005, Canada's agricultural exports amounted to $26.2 billion. That's very good, but we could do even better if the Member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) find a way of dismantling some of the most formidable barriers to agricultural trade, creating a more level playing field for everyone.
Any final agreement must address huge U.S. and European subsidies that distort the marketplace. It should also offer more access to all national markets. Significant changes in these areas would be of immense benefit to poorer countries. But they would be of great benefit to Canadian producers and processors as well. We have a sector that is diverse and strong, and that quite naturally represents a range of opportunities.
Progress in the WTO negotiations has been slow and difficult. International negotiations, by their nature, are about give-and-take. All countries like taking, but no country likes giving very much.
Canada is not alone in this circumstance. Beyond our borders, not one of the countries involved in these negotiations is going to get exactly what it wants. If an agreement is to be achieved, all countries are going to have to work collaboratively.
Canada is doing everything in its power at the negotiating table to get the best possible deal for Canada and all Canadian farmers. The truth is, we are facing significant pressure, but the Government has strongly supported Canada's supply management system, and we will continue to stand in support of this system. Supply management is Canada's choice; and it continues to be a successful choice for Canada's dairy, poultry and egg producers. It is a system that works for us. We also continue to press for real and significant improvements to market access for our exporters.
Some critics would have us walk away if we can't write this agreement in our own words. The reality is, though, that we cannot boycott a WTO deal without turning our backs on the WTO itself, as that would put Canada-a nation with an enormous stake in the multilateral trading system-and our farmers, at a profound disadvantage in the international marketplace.
We are a trading nation. Canada's active participation at the WTO is fundamental to achieving greater prosperity for our agriculture sector and for our country. Our participation is fundamental to ensuring that global agricultural trade is governed by a fair and effective, rules-based framework. Without rules that are fairer than they are now, big countries inevitably end up bullying smaller countries, and just as important, the extraordinary potential of agricultural sectors like Canada's cannot be maximized.
Canada needs a deal at the WTO-one that is fair and ambitious, and which supports rather than hinders a successful future for our agriculture sector. Minister Emerson and I plan to be at the meeting of Ministers at the WTO in Geneva at the end of June, backed up by our industry and provincial colleagues, to push for such a deal.