Manitoba’s Ag Minister ready to take NAFTA bull by the horns

Eichler participating in 2018 Legislative Ag Chairs Summit

By Kate Ayers

Staff Writer

Farms.com

Ralph Eichler, Manitoba’s Agriculture Minister, will concentrate on common goals and interests between Canadian and American officials during the 2018 Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit in Missouri this weekend.

The Summit brings together provincial and state agricultural representatives to discuss rural issues and work together on joint priorities, according to a Farmscape article today.  

The group will discuss NAFTA negotiations and Eichler will ensure Manitoba’s concerns are heard, he said.

“Trade and relations to trade (are) paramount for us to survive,” Eichler said in the article.

“I'm not afraid of that (NAFTA) conversation because I think we have a lot more to gain than we do to lose. By having those discussions, I think we can open some doors that we may not have open before.”

Although there are trade opportunities outside of the U.S., through either the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) or the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Eichler said that trade with our southern neighbours is our main focus and should continue.  

The summit takes place Jan. 5 to 7 in Kansas City, Missouri. 

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