U.S. farm groups pile on Canada as Trump eyes trade fairness

May 5, 2017, Winnipeg, Man. – U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the protected Canadian dairy system has emboldened U.S. farm groups to tackle other longstanding agriculture irritants, as the countries move toward rewriting trade rules.

U.S. poultry exporters, who include Tyson Foods and Pilgrims Pride Corp., as well as egg sellers, are expected to seek greater access to Canada’s tightly controlled market in renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The U.S., the world’s second-biggest chicken exporter, will demand market access gains at least equal to those they would have realized under the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, industry groups and experts say.

Canada currently allows tariff-free egg imports amounting to 2.98 per cent of Canadian production, and chicken imports worth 7.5 per cent. Imports would have doubled for eggs and jumped by more than one-quarter for chicken under TPP.

Last year, U.S. poultry sales to Canada totalled $509 million, while American egg and egg product exports to Canada amounted to $46 million, according to USAPEEC (all figures US$). READ MORE