CCA AGM MARCH 2020-Foreign Trade Committee Report

The 2020 CCA AGM was held in Ottawa over the second week of March, immediately prior to the announcement of COVID-19 as a global pandemic. COVID-19 has presented many challenges to the beef industry, but trade continues to be a strong focus of the CCA.  
 
The CCA Foreign Trade Committee meeting was held during the AGM on March 11, 2020. 

2019 was an active year for trade negotiations:
 
CUSMA:
In December 2019, the United States (U.S.) Administration reached agreement with Congress on the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and this agreement was confirmed to be acceptable to both Canada and Mexico. It is expected that the agreement will be implemented in all three nations on July 1, 2020. Under CUSMA, Canada, US, and Mexico maintain reciprocal duty-free trade.

Mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (mCOOL) continues to be a topic that is raised in the US by certain interest groups. Fortunately, the new NAFTA agreement includes a section that highlights the commitment to not disrupt trade through labelling; we were pleased to see the shared priority emphasized. The CCA continues to work with the Government of Canada and American allies to battle mCOOL.
 
CPTPP:
CPTPP came into effect amongst Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Mexico on December 30, 2018. Vietnam became the seventh to implement on January 14, 2019. For the remaining signatories, the CPTPP will enter into force 60 days after their ratification.
 
The access into Japan with the tariff dropping from the original 38.5 per cent to 26 per cent in 2019 was a leading factor in Canada’s 2019 beef export success. The CCA encourages the further expansion of the CPTPP subject to review of specific country barriers and potential for beef trade. 

Additionally, in 2019 Japan approved 30-month cattle, opening up market opportunity for Canadian beef. Canada also regained access into Indonesia for meat and bone meal. The CCA will continue to advocate for the expansion of technical access (eg. OTM and offals) within the Asian region.
 
CETA:
Since 2017, beef exports to and from Europe have grown. The greatest barrier of trade is eligibility of Canadian cattle for export. The CCA is working on proposals to facilitate exportable cattle demand.
 
United Kingdom:
The United Kingdom officially left the EU in January 2020, opening up direct trade access from Canada into the UK. Over half of all Canadian trade into the EU has been with the UK. Until a permanent Canada-UK agreement is negotiated, both sides will continue to provide the other with access through CETA.
 
China:
Genetics for Canadian cattle are still not being exported to China, however, meat exports have resumed. Export certificates for Canadian meat were halted on June 25, 2019 due to the discovery of fraudulent export certificates. During the closure, CCA actively engaged in discussions with government officials to help ensure Canadian beef exports to China would be eligible as soon as possible. The Government of Canada completed an investigation and submitted an Action Plan that has led to the re-establishment of exports to China on November 5, 2019. All establishments eligible to export as of June 25, 2019, were once again eligible.
 
Jessica Sperber
Member at Large
Young Cattlemen’s Council