Washington - Moving to soothe angry American farmers, the United States and Canada agreed to lower trade barriers for grain and livestock and address longstanding allegations that the Canadians are dumping wheat in U.S. markets.
The Clinton administration said it would start requiring Canada to divulge the price and quality of wheat it is shipping to U.S. markets.
The moves “put us on the path toward eliminating a lot of the trade irritants that have plagued our trading relationship for far too long,” said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman. His Canadian counterpart, Lyle Vanclief, said the deal ensures that the two countries' huge farm trade, now worth about $15 billion a year, keeps flowing.
The agreement is the result of two months of talks that started after several border-state governors slowed border traffic by stepping up inspections of Canadian trucks.
The governors praised the deal Friday, as did several major U.S. farm organizations. “This means Canada is interested in long-term solutions,” said South Dakota Gov. Bill Janklow.
However, no limits will be put on imports of Canadian grain and livestock, as some U.S. producers have demanded, and farmers in North Dakota and Montana said they would go ahead with protests at some border points this weekend.
“People are tired of talking about things that never get done,” said Ron Selzler, a Knox, N.D., farmer.
Farmers in both countries are struggling with a sharp downturn in commodity prices. Economists blame the Asian economic crisis and a worldwide grain glut, but the squeeze also renewed complaints by U.S. farmers about Canada.
Under the deal, Canada is to provide quarterly forecasts of its wheat shipments, end its quarantines of U.S. hogs and allow some American grain to be sold directly to Canadian elevators or shipped over its rail lines to West Coast ports.
Canada also is relaxing restrictions on imports of U.S. cattle, and the two countries will speed the standardization of regulations for pesticides and animal drugs.
American pork producers think they can ease some of the oversupply in the U.S. market by shipping hogs to Canada, now that the 30-day quarantine requirement is being dropped. “Producers in border states now have a choice,” said Nick Giordano, a trade specialist for the National Pork Producers Council.
Other groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, also endorsed the deal.
Wheat growers, at least along the border, won't be as easy to satisfy.
U.S. imports of spring wheat increased 2,000 percent, to 1.45 million tons, from 1990 to 1997, and imports of Canadian durum, the variety used for pasta, were up 57 percent, to 427,600 tons.
Canada denies it has sold the grain at below cost but had refused to disclose how it is priced or to limit the amount shipped. The Canadian Wheat Board controls Canada's wheat sales.
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