Canada is ready to become the sixth country to ratify the agreement
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Canada is one step closer to officially entering an important trade agreement.
Bill C-79, the act to implement the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), received royal assent yesterday.
Canada’s next step is to notify the other 10 countries of its intention to ratify the deal. Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have already ratified the agreement.
The CPTPP comes into effect 60 days after six nations ratify the deal. The first six nations will also benefit from early market access.
“Farmers all across the country win with the CPTPP,” Markus Haerle, vice-president of Grain Growers of Canada, said in a statement.
Ratification is “the first step to eliminating many tariffs that have prevented meaningful market access to key Asian markets,” Brian Innes, president of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, said in a statement. “These new opportunities in fast-growing markets will be transformative for the agri-food sector.”
The deal is significant for Canadian pork producers.
Pork exports to Japan could increase by $639 million under CPTPP, the federal government says.
As part of the agreement, Japan will eliminate tariffs on “higher-priced” Canadian pork cuts within 10 years and reduce levies on “lower-priced” pork cuts in the same timeframe.
Those savings equal about $51 million over 10 years, the Canadian Pork Council said.
These changes are positive step for the pork sector.
“That’s great news for pork producers,” said John Van Engelen, a pork producer from Lambton County, Ont. “Any time we can have more access to any markets, especially ones like Japan, is important for us.”