Trading after Trump: TPP still on the table

Nov 14, 2017

Eleven of the original 12 countries have agreed to work toward the trade deal

Staff Reporter

Farms.com

Canada and ten other countries in the Pacific Rim are one step closer to reaching a new free trade agreement, which could be good news for Canadian farmers.

The 11 countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada – have agreed to move ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal without the U.S., according to a Global News article.

The countries announced on Saturday that they have reached an agreement on the core elements of the pact, the article said.

If the trade deal is successful, Canada’s red meat industry could reap the benefits.

“We can't afford to give up a competitive advantage against other nations … who are also competing for this new market,” Marcus Mattinson, manager of communications at the Canadian Meat Council, said in a Farmscape interview.

Countries in the Pacific Rim receive approximately 28 per cent of Canada’s total global meat exports, Mattinson said.

And, this market may continue to grow.

In fact, Canada’s pork exports grew by 7.53 per cent from Sept. 2016 to Sept. 2017, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Many of the countries included in the proposed trade agreement contributed to this growth. Over the same period, exports increased by:

· 13.43 per cent to Japan

· 3.41 per cent to Mexico

· 50.07 per cent to Chile

· 21.09 per cent to New Zealand

“International trade and the ability to reach new and developing markets is vital to the continued growth of Ontario’s hog industry,” Eric Schwindt, chair of the Ontario Pork board of directors, said in a recent email to Farms.com.

“Ontario pork producers currently export between 50 and 55 per cent of their products, with Japan (being) the second largest export market for Canadian hogs. A successful Trans-Pacific Partnership will increase access and remove barriers to trade with important and fast-growing markets on both sides of the Pacific.”

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.