The Canadian National Newspaper: EU trade sour deal for Canadian dairy

OTTAWA — A new trade deal between Canada and the European Union could breathe life into Canadian fisheries and forestry, but the dairy industry thinks the idea stinks worse than old cheese.

Many Canadian imports and exports would be affected by the proposed agreement, including fish, forest products, consumer goods and cheese.

"We have our own system, which is to produce for our own consumers, and we already import a lot of dairy products, especially cheese, from Europe," explains Thérèse Beaulieu, a spokeswoman for the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

She won't speculate on what might happen to Canadian dairy farmers if it becomes easier to import European cheeses, but she says it would be better if trade talks excluded the dairy industry altogether.

There has been a great deal of speculation surrounding the Oct. 17 Canada-EU summit in Quebec City, which suggests leaders of the EU are ready and willing to open negotiations with Canada over a possible trade agreement.

Such a deal would result in more than a reduction of tariffs. It would change government buying policies that favour local producers, make it easier for professionals to move between countries, and restrict labelling that implies specific geographic origins on products like feta cheese and champagne.

"It would mean we could not name our cheddar cheese, cheddar. One hundred per cent of Canadians know what cheddar is. Ninety-nine per cent of Canadians eat cheddar cheese. It has a huge impact for everyone if all of a sudden you have to change a name of a cheese, so we absolutely oppose that," she says.

Patrick McGuinness, president of the Fisheries Council of Canada, is more enthusiastic:

"We want to broaden our portfolio of international trade and investment, and we are currently very heavily dependent on the United States."

"We're a hundred per cent -- a hundred and ten per cent -- behind discussions between Canada and the European Union with respect to a trade agreement," he further says.

Although the EU is now the largest market in the world for seafood, its tariff rates are "archaic," McGuinness says.

The EU tacks tariffs of 16 per cent on lobster and 20 per cent on cooked and peeled shrimp.

"Canada's now the number one supplier in the world of that type of product, much of it coming from Newfoundland and New Brunswick and Quebec," he says.

Marta Morgan, the vice president of trade and competitiveness for the Forest Products Association of Canada, also likes the idea of freer trade with the EU. While the U.S. market for Canadian wood and paper has declined over the past couple of years, the EU market has grown by 13.5 per cent, she says.

There will always be some winners and losers in trade agreements, according to Werner Antweiler, a professor of international trade at the University of British Columbia.

Antweiler says freer trade with the EU would do little to lessen the pain of the current economic crisis, but it would benefit the Canadian economy in the long term.

"We want to broaden our portfolio of international trade and investment, and we are currently very heavily dependent on the United States," he says.

McGuinness says the value of the Canadian dollar - even though it's falling - makes trading with Europe an attractive option.

The EU already has preferential trading agreements with countries like Norway and Iceland, whose seafood industries compete with ours, he says.

If Canada signed such an agreement, says McGuinness, "It would just be a breath of fresh air for our industry, particularly our industry in Atlantic Canada."

Become a Member:

Would you like to see other similar articles and critical commentaries in The Canadian National Newspaper? Then, show your support. Make a member-pledge donation, in support of the Membership Drive of the Pro-Democracy Media Foundation.

The Canadian can only continue to publish investigative articles in such areas, with the donations from members of the public in Canada, the U.S., and abroad. Consider making a donation of $50.00, $75.00, $100.00, $200.00 or more. Donors are eligible to receive our first collector's print edition in mail. Alternatively, you can send us a note to be placed on our special email list of members. Member-donors can also suggest articles or commentaries to be published in The Canadian.

The Canadian is a socially progressive and not-for-profit national newspaper, with an international readership. We provide an alternative to the for-profit commercial focused media, which often censors vital information and perspective of potential interest to the diverse Canadian public, and other peoples internationally.

Server Error in '/' Application.

The resource cannot be found.