Turkey Farmers of Canada respond to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership

Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC) is deeply troubled and concerned about the signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

“We believe this deal will harm the turkey sector,” said TFC chair Mark Davies. “There was no need to maintain the market access levels of the original TPP, which were made in response to demands by the U.S., which is no longer part of the agreement.”

After the U.S. pulled out from the original Trans-Pacific Partnership, the remaining 11 member countries agreed on January 23, 2018 to a revised trade agreement in principle. The agreement is scheduled to officially be signed in early March 2018.

This deal will increase import access to the Canadian turkey market by 71 per cent, representing $270 million in lost farm cash receipts over the next 19 years, and a farm output loss of at least 4.5 per cent.

“Farmers’ livelihoods will be impacted by corresponding farm income losses, without even taking into account downward pressure on farm prices or the market growth Canadian farmers will lose to exporters,” said Davies. “Total economic activity losses in the order of $111 million per year will occur throughout the value-chain.”

“We will be losing family farms, at a time when 90 per cent of Canadians want turkey produced in Canada according to a 2017 survey,” Davies noted. “The original TPP agreement came with commitments to mitigation and remedies for border irritants. We look forward to working with the government to follow through on these commitments and work on solutions tailored to our sector.”