But despite the panel’s findings in New Zealand’s favour, Canada is also framing the panel’s ruling as a win — as it also generally upholds Canada’s ability to set criteria for dairy quota allocations.

In a ruling dated Tuesday, a three-member CPTPP panel found Canada’s policy of reserving priority access to its 16 dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) is “inconsistent” with its obligations under the 2018 trade pact — and that the pooling system Canada has set up in its allocation mechanism “operates to limit the opportunity for otherwise eligible applicants to use the TRQs fully.”

Canada in 2020 and 2021 issued 16 “notices to importers” that carve up its overall available TRQs for 16 separate dairy product categories, by reserving 80-85 per cent of them for processors, zero to 20 per cent for further-processors, and zero to 15 per cent for distributors.

Arguing that a system reserving the “vast majority” of available TRQ allocations for processors fell short of Canada’s CPTPP commitments, New Zealand had called for consultations with Canada under the CPTPP in May last year, then asked for a dispute settlement panel in November. A dispute hearing was then held in June in Ottawa.

New Zealand, which contended Canada was “impermissibly limiting access to TRQ quota to its domestic dairy processors,” notes its case marks the first dispute to be taken by any party under the CPTPP.

In its ruling, the panel emphasized it’s not requiring Canada or other CPTPP parties make sure each available TRQ quantity be fully filled each year — but “the opportunity to fill them must not be undermined by an overly compartmentalized and complicated system as is the case with Canada’s current allocation mechanism.”

On the other hand, the panel’s 60-page ruling found Canada did not introduce “new limits or eligibility requirements” on its dairy TRQs, and that its notices to importers, by setting up “additional criteria for eligible applicants” for a quota allocation, are within the discretion allowed to countries that use an allocation mechanism.

But the panel also emphasized “it is not suggesting that Canada, or any party using a TRQ allocation mechanism, has unfettered discretion to adopt any manner of eligibility criteria that it wants.”

‘Have to change’

CPTPP rules now give Canada “a reasonable period of time to change its TRQ administration to comply with the panel decision,” New Zealand officials said Tuesday.

“Canada was not living up to its commitments under CPTPP, by effectively blocking access for our dairy industry to upscale its exports. That will now have to change,” New Zealand Trade Minister Damien O’Connor said in a separate statement.

The panel ruling, he said, will give New Zealand’s exporters the “confidence and certainty that the mechanisms in place will ensure they receive the market access that all members agreed to.”

New Zealand, he said, “look(s) forward to our dairy exporters being able to properly utilize the hard-won market access we negotiated through CPTPP and we hope Canadian customers will welcome more consumer choice.”

Dairy Farmers of Canada president David Wiens, in a separate statement Wednesday, said the organization is “disappointed” with the dispute panel’s findings. Out of the six challenged elements of Canada’s system, two were ruled to be inconsistent with the CPTPP while New Zealand’s other four claims were ruled as “unfounded,” he said.

DFC, he said, now calls on Ottawa to run a “thorough review of the measures the government of New Zealand has put in place to support its dairy sector to ensure that they are consistent with its international trade obligations.”

In a separate statement Tuesday, Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said the panel “has made a significant finding by recognizing Canada’s discretion to set TRQ allocation policies, including determining who is eligible to obtain an allocation.”

Canada, the ministers said, “will not negotiate these allocations with countries who seek to weaken Canada’s supply management system.”

The panel’s findings on Canada’s use of pools also “will not undermine Canada’s supply management system,” they added.

Canada’s system of reserving TRQs for imports by domestic dairy processors has been a target of two separate disputes launched by the United States under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). The U.S. is not a party to the CPTPP.

Canada’s supply management systems on dairy, poultry and eggs are meant to ensure regulated supplies of those perishable goods, by regulating the levels of domestic production; regulating pricing according to end-use; and managing imports through the use of TRQs and an otherwise high tariff wall.

Martin Harvey, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Canada, said in a separate statement the outcome of this dispute “would not take away from the excellent relationship” between the two countries.

“It is a good example of how dispute settlement chapters in free trade agreements are meant to work. It’s an outcome that supports our shared commitment to a rules-based international trading system, and a good day for CPTPP.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post New Zealand, Canada each claim wins in CPTPP dairy dispute appeared first on Farmtario.

Federal Trade Minster Mary Ng on Thursday announced the conclusion of negotiations, making the U.K. the first accession applicant to reach that stage and “mark(ing) an important chapter in the development of the CPTPP.”

Ministers and trade reps from CPTPP nations met virtually Friday (Japan time) and declared “substantial conclusion” of talks with the U.K., which have been formally underway since 2021.

The CPTPP’s accession working group said in a statement Friday that the U.K. “has provided commercially meaningful market access offers of the highest standard on goods, services, investment, financial services, government procurement, state-owned enterprises and temporary entry for business persons.”

“As the first country to show support for the U.K.’s accession to CPTPP, we are pleased to see a longstanding friend and ally join one of the world’s most progressive trade agreements,” Ng said in her statement.

U.K. accession to the CPTPP, she said, “would build on our longstanding economic and people-to-people ties and shared values on open and rules-based trade (and) would provide further trade and investment opportunities for both countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.”

The U.K. has sought new formal trade pacts elsewhere since its “Brexit” from the European Union in 2020. Talks on a new bilateral Canada-U.K. trade deal have been formally underway since March last year.

Meanwhile, a Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), which came into force in April 2021, upholds bilateral trade terms similar to those of the 2017 Canada-E.U. free trade pact (CETA).

But the U.K. has also sought entry since 2020 to the CPTPP pact, which Canada was fifth to ratify in 2018 and now also includes Japan, Australia, Mexico, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam. The pact officially came into force for Malaysia just last Nov. 29.

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), a group of Canadian organizations representing export-dependent ag commodity sectors, has long said it “would be supportive of (U.K.) accession subject to them meeting the high standards of the (CPTPP) agreement.”

But CAFTA, in a 2021 submission for federal consultations on the matter, warned its member groups “cannot support an outcome where U.K. beef continues to have unlimited access to the Canadian market while Canadian beef is subject to a TRQ (tariff rate quota).”

Also, while the U.K. “continues to apply (E.U.) regulatory policies” on sanitary and phytosanitary barriers and a ban on livestock growth promotion technology, none of the 10 other CPTPP members have such restrictions “as they adhere to international guidelines on these products.”

Similarly, CAFTA said at the time, the Canadian pork industry would seek for the U.K. be “forced to abide by the same guidelines agreed upon by the current signatories of CPTPP.”

The Canadian Cattle Association, a CAFTA member, declared itself Friday to be “disappointed” with a market access agreement that will form the basis for the U.K. to join CPTPP “without achieving viable access for Canadian beef to the U.K.”

Specifically, the CCA said in a statement Friday, “we are aware that other members of the CPTPP have achieved unlimited beef access in their bilateral agreements with the U.K. We have been informed that similar access for Canada is ‘off the table’.”

Also, the CCA said, there’s “no current progress being made to address the main obstacle to the U.K. market – the full acceptance of Canada’s meat hygiene system, which is widely recognized as one of the finest in the world.”

The CCA said it “will draw a hard line that this barrier must be addressed in Canada’s bilateral agreement with the U.K.”

CCA president Nathan Phinney also warned Friday the U.K. entry to CPTPP “further disadvantages Canadian beef producers and is fundamentally unjust,” and if a ratification bill comes to Parliament without addressing U.K. barriers to Canadian beef, “CCA will approach all Parliamentarians to defeat that bill.”

Under the Canada-U.K. TCA, the CCA said Friday, British beef can enter Canada at a zero per cent tariff in “unlimited” quantities, while Canadian beef has a zero per cent tariff but only up to a TRQ of 2,708 tonnes fresh and 1,161 tonnes frozen per year.

Under those terms, the U.K. exported 2,733 tonnes of beef to Canada in 2021 and 4,414 tonnes in 2022, while Canada exported 657 tonnes of beef to the U.K. in 2021 and “zero in 2022,” the association said.

CCA said it believes a deal with the U.K. that leaves such barriers in place “does not meet the standard of the CPTPP and the U.K.’s bid to join should be rejected until they can do better to meet the progressive trade principles of the CPTPP.”

Enforcement

Among other organizations weighing in this week on U.K. entry to the CPTPP, Dairy Farmers of Canada acknowledged Friday the deal will provide U.K. dairy exporters with TRQ access to the Canadian market.

However, according to Global Affairs Canada, all CPTPP member countries share one fixed amount of TRQ into Canada for dairy, and the department has said it will “continue to honour the government’s commitment to not provide additional market access in our supply-managed sectors in any future trade negotiation.”

DFC said Friday it “expect(s) the Canadian government will be vigilant to ensure that the dairy products coming into Canada adhere to our domestic standards for food safety and production, and that any volumes allowed into Canada are enforced according to the terms of the agreement.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Beef sector rips ‘unjust’ result as talks wrap on U.K. entry to CPTPP appeared first on Farmtario.

Canada’s federal agriculture department announced Monday that Japan has reopened to imports of “processed” Canadian beef — just days ahead of a significant reduction in Japan’s tariffs on imports of Canadian beef under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact.

“Our members view this as a critical market for their products, including processed beef and beef patties,” Chris White, CEO of the Canadian Meat Council, said in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s release Monday.

“This agreement will allow our industry to further build on the recent successes they have enjoyed in Japan since the CPTPP was ratified.”

Nathan Phinney, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, said in a separate release Monday producers are “grateful for the re-opening for processed beef in Japan, our second largest export market for beef.”

Japan’s decision concludes another plot thread in the story of Canada’s BSE crisis. Japan had closed its ports entirely to Canadian beef in 2003, upon Canada’s first finding of a domestic cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Canada in 2021 regained “negligible risk” status for BSE from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Japan reopened to imports of Canadian beef from cattle 20 months of age or younger in 2005, to beef from cattle 30 months or younger (UTMs) in 2013, and to beef from cattle over 30 months old (OTMs) in 2019.

Under the CPTPP — in force since the end of 2018 for Canada and Japan as well as Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore, as the first six of the 11 member countries to ratify that deal — Canada has since had preferential market access to Japan that has allowed it to build its eligible beef exports up to an amount the CCA pegged at $518 million in 2022.

Japan levies a 38.5 per cent tariff on beef imports, including on primary processed beef products. For Canada, however, the beef tariff has decreased since the CPTPP came into force and, starting Saturday (April 1), drops again to 23.35 per cent, en route down to nine per cent by 2033.

Tariffs on further-processed beef products “will be reduced even more and in some cases eliminated altogether,” AAFC said Monday, reiterating that the reduction “provides Canadian exporters with a clear tariff advantage over our key competitors.”

The value of beef in Japan has also increased, rising from $6.74 per kilogram in 2020 to $7.76/kg in 2022, the CCA said Monday.

Japan, and the larger Indo-Pacific region, “hold the greatest potential for beef export diversification” for Canada, the CCA added.

The federal government late last year launched its Indo-Pacific strategy, through which it says it plans to boost economic opportunities for Canada by strengthening partnerships in the region such as with Japan.

The strategy also calls for the establishment of Canada’s first dedicated agriculture and agri-food office in the region, at an as-yet unannounced location. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Japan lifts last of BSE-era restrictions off Canadian beef appeared first on Farmtario.

Britain has opposed expanding the target of tariff-free items, particularly among agricultural products, to near 100 per cent as set by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and instead agreed to lift tariffs for only 90 per cent of imported products, Jiji said without citing sources.

The CPTPP countries had agreed in February that Britain could proceed with its bid to join the group, formed by Japan, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile and Malaysia.

Britain is set to resubmit its tariff conditions following the request, which would make an agreement among the members to Britain’s entry to the pact by year-end unlikely, Jiji reported.

— Reporting for Reuters by Kantaro Komiya.

The post U.K. is asked to reconsider ag tariff in Trans-Pacific talks appeared first on Farmtario.

Prime ministers Boris Johnson and Jacinda Ardern sealed the deal in a Zoom call on Wednesday after 16 months of negotiation.

“This is a great trade deal for the United Kingdom, cementing our long friendship with New Zealand and furthering our ties with the Indo-Pacific,” Johnson said in a statement.

It comes only months after a similar British agreement with Australia as ministers in London look to flesh out a post-Brexit pivot away from relying on commerce with the European Union.

New Zealand’s prime minister, Ardern, said at a news conference in Wellington that the trade deal was the country’s best ever.

“This deal serves New Zealand’s economy and exporters well as we reconnect, rebuild and recover from COVID-19, and look forward into the future,” Ardern said.

All tariffs on all products will be eliminated between both countries — and a vast majority of these, 97 per cent, will be removed the day the trade deal comes into force, Ardern said.

It also fully opens up the British market to lamb imports from New Zealand, which upset Britain’s farmers.

“The government is now asking British farmers to go toe-to-toe with some of the most export-orientated farmers in the world, without the serious, long-term and properly funded investment in U.K. agriculture that can enable us to do so,” National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters said.

Britain stressed the liberalization will be phased over more than a decade and said that existing lamb quotas are not fully utilized.

The deal took longer to reach than expected, coming nearly two months after a target date, and was criticized by Britain’s opposition Labour Party as harming farmers and failing to deliver on jobs, exports or economic growth.

However, ministers see it as another stepping stone toward joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — an 11-country bloc including Australia, Singapore and Mexico.

CPTPP membership has emerged as Britain’s top post-Brexit trade aim after the prospects of a quick and comprehensive deal with the United States faded. Britain is hoping to become a member by the end of 2022.

It also aligns with their foreign policy push for more influence in the Indo-Pacific to try to moderate China’s global dominance.

— Reporting for Reuters by William James in London and Praveen Menon in Wellington.

The post Britain, New Zealand strike free trade deal appeared first on Farmtario.

Taiwan has been angling to join the grouping for a while and had already been discussing the issue informally with the bloc’s existing members.

Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said they had informed the CPTPP’s members of their decision to apply to seek their support, and that Premier Su Tseng-chang had asked ministries to make preparations for talks.

“Applying to join the CPTPP is an important economic and trade policy that the government has worked hard to promote for a long time,” Lo said in a statement.

More details will be given on Thursday following a weekly cabinet meeting, he added.

Taiwan Economy Minister Wang Mei-hua last week expressed concern about China’s “sudden” decision to apply to join CPTPP, and said she hoped it did not affect the island’s own application.

The original 12-member agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), was seen as an important economic counterweight to China’s growing influence.

But the TPP was thrown into limbo in early 2017 when then-U.S. president Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the pact.

Excluded

The grouping, which was renamed the CPTPP, currently links Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Britain is also keen to join the CPTPP and in June began negotiations.

Taiwan is excluded from many international bodies because of China’s insistence that it is part of “one-China” rather than a separate country. China views Taiwan as its own territory.

But Taiwan is a member of the World Trade Organization and the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) grouping.

Taiwan has been heartened by recent progress toward trade agreements with the United States and the European Union, which are both frustrated with China’s lack of progress in opening its economy and are keen to show their support for Taiwan’s democracy and much freer market policies.

— Reporting for Reuters by Ben Blanchard.

The post Taiwan applies to join Pacific trade pact week after China appeared first on Farmtario.

Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted China’s application to join the free trade agreement in a letter to New Zealand’s trade minister, Damien O’Connor, the Chinese ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

The CPTPP was signed by 11 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan and New Zealand in 2018.

Before that, it was known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and seen as an important economic counterweight to China’s regional influence.

Japan, the CPTPP’s chair this year, said it would consult with member countries to respond to China’s request, but stopped short of signalling a timeline for doing so.

“Japan believes that it’s necessary to determine whether China, which submitted a request to join the TPP-11, is ready to meet its extremely high standards,” Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters on Friday.

The TPP was central to former U.S. President Barack Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia but his successor, Donald Trump, withdrew the United States from the pact in 2017.

Asked to comment on China’s bid, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said it deferred to CPTPP, given that the United States was not a member, but added: “That said, we would expect that China’s non-market trade practices and China’s use of economic coercion against other countries would factor into CPTPP parties’ evaluation of China as a potential candidate for accession.”

CPTPP accession would be a major boost for China following the signing of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade agreement last year.

Beijing has lobbied for its inclusion in the pact, including by highlighting that the Chinese and Australian economies have enormous potential for co-operation. However, relations between the two countries have soured.

In a new alliance dubbed AUKUS announced this week, the United States and Britain said they would provide Australia with the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines, a move seen as aimed at countering China’s influence in the Pacific.

Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, said on Friday that the application to join CPTPP was “completely unrelated” to AUKUS.

China was pushing for regional integration while AUKUS countries were “promoting war and destruction,” he said at a briefing in Beijing.

Taiwan, which has also been angling to join the trade pact, expressed concern about China’s decision to apply.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and would not be pleased if Taipei was allowed to join the grouping before Beijing.

Japan’s deputy finance minister suggested in a tweet on Friday that China’s subsidies of state-owned firms and arbitrary application of the law were likely to make it hard for the country to join the trade pact.

“China … is far removed from the free, fair and highly transparent world of TPP, chances that it can join are close to zero,” State Minister of Finance Kenji Nakanishi said in a tweet. “This can be thought of as a move to prevent Taiwan from joining.”

Britain in June began negotiations to enter the trade pact, while Thailand has also signalled interest in joining it.

Wang and O’Connor held a telephone conference to discuss the next steps following China’s application, the Chinese ministry of commerce said.

— Reporting for Reuters by Colin Qian, Twinnie Siu, Tom Daly and Gabriel Crossley in Beijing, Daniel Leussink and Sakura Murakami in Tokyo, Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao in Taipei and David Brunnstrom in Washington.

The post China applies to join Trans-Pacific trade pact appeared first on Farmtario.

Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters he welcomed the start of Britain’s joining process after hosting an online meeting of ministers from the 11 countries that make up the trans-Pacific trade pact.

“I think there’s a big meaning to this from a strategic viewpoint of strengthening economic relations between Japan and the United Kingdom,” Nishimura said.

The United Kingdom’s admission into CPTPP would bring the nominal gross domestic product of the zone covered by the pact almost on par with that of the European Union, he added.

“The commencement of an accession process with the United Kingdom and the potential expansion of the CPTPP will send a strong signal to our trading partners around the world,” the 11 member countries said in a statement.

Britain made a formal request to join the trade deal in February as it sought to open new avenues for post-Brexit trade and influence.

The CPTPP removes 95 per cent of tariffs between its members: Japan, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile and Malaysia. Unlike the EU, it does not aim to create a single market or a customs union, and it does not seek wider political integration.

The United Kingdom and Japan signed off on a trade agreement in October last year, marking its first major post-Brexit deal on trade.

— Reporting for Reuters by Daniel Leussink.

The post Trans-Pacific trade partners agree for U.K. to start joining process appeared first on Farmtario.

“Today we’re announcing our intent to pursue accession to CPTPP, one of the world’s largest free trading areas,” Trade Secretary Liz Truss said.

The British government said joining CPTPP would help the U.K. overcome the challenge posed by the coronavirus and would help diversity its trade links.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement that links Canada and 10 other countries: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Once fully implemented, the 11 countries will form a trading bloc representing 495 million consumers and 13.5 per cent of global GDP, according to the Canadian government. If the United Kingdom were to join, that share of global GDP would rise to about 16 per cent.

The United Kingdom left the European Union on Jan. 31 but the main terms of its membership remain in place during a transition period until the end of this year. Both the U.K. and EU hope to negotiate a new free trade deal between them by the end of the year.

Thailand’s government also announced last week it has set up a committee to consider by mid-July whether it should seek CPTPP membership. The lower house panel is by then expected to present a study on the proposal to the government.

— Reporting for Reuters by Guy Faulconbridge and Panarat Thepgumpanat.

The post U.K. aims to join Trans-Pacific Partnership appeared first on Farmtario.

But the growing exasperation of the agriculture industry with the obstructionist antics of foreign trading partners was evident during the Canadian Crops Convention.

Signed trade deals that once seemed to offer so much have failed to deliver anything near what had been hoped.

“They’re not working for the people in this room,” said Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada, addressing Canada’s Chief Trade Commissioner Ailish Campbell.

“Those agreements have to work, and to work they have to be enforced.”

That sentiment has been widespread in Canadian farm and agriculture circles, as farmers and food exporters have faced trade barriers from countries like Italy and Vietnam, with whom Canada has recently concluded deals such as the CETA with Europe and CPTPP with Asian countries.

Campbell and Fred Gorrell, Canada’s director general of the Market Access Secretariat, offered firm commitments to keep fighting for fair treatment of Canadian farmers and agriculture in the global marketplace. However, Gorrell underlined the the rise of protectionism sentiment.

Campbell said that Canada can’t adopt the approach of players with vast geopolitical weight, because it is a much smaller entity on the world stage.

“We just don’t have some of the market power, nor do we have the geostrategic security apparatus that the U.S. can add to the mix,” she said.

“We have to be realistic about where we fit in the global picture.”

Both Campbell and Gorrell were vocal promoters of the value of Canadian agriculture in boosting Canada’s trade and national wealth.

“I think we’ve set ourselves a pretty ambitious stretch goal,” Campbell said about the federal target of increasing agri-food exports from $60 billion to $75 billion by 2025.

“The grains, oilseeds and pulses sectors are an essential part of meeting that goal.”

She said her trade commissioners around the world are working diligently on the trade barriers.

“Market access issues here and abroad are always top of mind for me and my team. We are seized with the need to combat protectionism and trade barriers in all sectors.”

Gorrell said the spread of protectionist sentiment means Canada must reduce over-reliance upon a handful of big markets.

One challenge Canada faces with keeping foreign markets happy, Gorrell said, is the unreliability of the transportation system.

“Every meeting” is how he summed up the frequency of concerns being raised by foreign buyers about the dependability of the Canadian system to deliver on time.

This article was originally published at The Western Producer.

The post Trade deals not working well enough for farmers appeared first on Farmtario.