Minister Ritz Takes Strong Stand on WTO Agriculture Negotiations

(The Canadian Press – Agriculture Canada)

Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today [Sunday] issued the following statement in response to the release of a revised draft modalities text on agriculture by Crawford Falconer, Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture negotiations.

“The Conservative Government is standing up for Canadian farm families during the WTO trade negotiations in Geneva. We are working hard to deliver a balanced WTO agreement that benefits all Canadian farm families by protecting our supply managed sectors and creating new opportunities for exporters.

“Canada has very serious concerns about some elements of a revised text released yesterday that would negatively affect our supply managed industries. We remain opposed to these provisions.

“Canada is committed to the WTO process. With this text, the Chair has attempted to reflect the progress achieved among Members on many issues in recent weeks. Canada is pleased with many positive elements in the text such as significant reductions in trade-distorting support and new market access opportunities for our agricultural producers and exporters.

“However, we remain deeply concerned about the implications for supply management of some of the provisions. While there has been an acknowledgement that Canada has insisted on having 6 per cent of tariff lines as sensitive, the approach to this and other elements of the text remain unacceptable and more work remains to be done.

“In the event of a meeting of WTO Ministers in Geneva, the Government of Canada is going to continue to press hard to achieve all of its objectives. We will continue to seek an outcome that benefits all of Canadian agriculture, including both our exporters and our supply managed industries.

“As the negotiations proceed in Geneva, Canada will continue to work constructively with other WTO Members in an effort to move the agriculture negotiations forward. An agreement on modalities would not be a final conclusion, but one more step in the process to moving the Doha Round toward a successful conclusion.”