Ottawa, ON - Canada's hog producers have sent an open letter to the Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freelandand the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food , Lawrence MacAulay as part of the Government of Canada's commitment to being transparent, open and consultative with Canadians on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).The Canadian Pork Council is pleased to take this opportunity to participate in this consultative process with Canadians and to submit our views on the deal as reflected in the recently released TPP text.
The Canadian Pork Council has been a staunch supporter of Canada's participation in the negotiations of a Trans-Pacific Partnership and has been working closely with Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) and its other agri-food exporter members in supporting ratification of TPP.
Last year, 1.1 million tonnes of pork and pork products, valued at over $3.7 billion, were exported to ninety-two different countries.Of this, approximately 80 percent was sold to current TPP partners while another 15 percent goes to countries we see as prime candidates to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.It follows that Canada's participation in the TPP is of critical interest to Canadian pork producers.
The CPC sees significant benefits from the Trans-Pacific Partnership for our pork farming membership.These include:
- It preserves Canada's ability to export to Japan, a billion dollar market for Canadian pork, on equal terms with the United States and other TPP country competitors.
- It offers us advantageous terms of access to Japan relative to non-TPP pork exporters.
- The TPP achieves significantly improved terms of access into other TPP countries, including Viet Nam.
- Also of major importance, Canada, as one of the founding members, is in a position to negotiate concessions from other countries seeking to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
- Potential of eliminating the remaining Korean tariffs on Canadian pork should Korea seek entry into TPP
The Canadian pork industry has had the unfortunate experience of finding itself at a serious competitive disadvantage following other countries' trade deals.The United States and the European Union completed free trade agreements with South Korea three years ahead of Canada.The year before those FTAs went into force, our exports to Korea were$250 million; just two years later, they had fallen by almost 75%.
The CPC will continue to work closely with CAFTA and its other agri-food exporter members in supporting ratification of TPP
The CPC serves as the national voice for hog producers in Canada. A federation of nine provincial pork industry associations, the organization's purpose is to play a leadership role in achieving and maintaining a dynamic and prosperous Canadian pork sector.
Source: CPC