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
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Nominations are now open! The Canadian Cattlemen's Association Young Cattlemen's Council (YCC) is looking for young people passionate about the success of the Canadian beef industry to put their name forward to serve on the YCC Board. We will be holding elections on August 6, 2020 during our virtual Annual General Meeting, where elections will take place for one two-year term Member at Large position. To be consider for the two-year Member at Large position, please fill out the following nomination form and submit it along side the additional requirements outlined in the document. The deadline is July 27, 2020. Click here: 2020 Member at Large Nomination Form **This form was updated on July 17, 2020 (Forms submitted prior to the update will still meet the requirements and there is no need for resubmission.) If you know of any young people who may be interested, please feel free to share this information with them. For more information please visit our Join the Council page, or reach out with any questions through our Contact page. The Young Cattlemen’s Council had the opportunity to join this week’s Canadian Cattlemen's Association Virtual News Roundup. YCC President, Kayla Weston, and Vice President, Geoff Larkin, shared updates on the Council’s activities communicating to the public and federal government the impacts COVID-19 is having on young Canadian beef producers. To watch the full CCA Virtual News Roundup episode for May 28, 2020, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWUk5VG6vU&t=1s 5/20/2020 0 Comments Welcome to our new website! The Young Cattlemen’s Council is excited to unveil our new website designed to connect young beef enthusiasts from across Canada. As a Council, we’ve often discussed how we can strive to be a conduit of information between industry and young beef producers, and we look forward to using our website as a tool to do so. We are grateful to have had the design expertise of Bree Patterson through her company Just.Ag Productions. Bree is a member of the Young Cattlemen's Council and has done an excellent job in helping us create a platform best suited for providing information to the next generation of the beef industry. We hope you'll join us here "At the Water Trough" where we will be posting our latest news, along with industry events and resources. You can also give us a follow on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on what’s happening with YCC and in the beef industry. If you are a young person in the industry looking to connect with like-minded individuals, please be sure to check out our Join the Council page to read more on how you can become involved with YCC. Until next time, take care and stay safe. - YCC President, Kayla WestonOn May 1, 2020, the Young Cattlemen’s Council submitted a letter to the Federal Government emphasizing the importance of improving and expanding the Livestock Price Insurance program to help young producers manage the significant market uncertainty caused by COVID-19. To read our letter, please click here. |