Canola Industry Welcoming WTO Involvement In China Dispute

Sep 06, 2019

Canada's canola industry is welcoming Friday's announcement that the federal government has made a formal request for consultations with China under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement.

“We’re disappointed that this action needed to be taken, but it is a necessary step to help determine the legitimacy of China’s trade measures,” says Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada (CCC). “While we’ve supported continued technical engagement, the scientific basis for China’s actions remains unclear.”

Since market access issues affecting canola seed trade started in early March, Chinese importers remain unwilling to purchase Canadian canola seed from exporters. The licenses of Richardson and Viterra to export canola seed to China remain suspended.

“China has an obligation to explain the scientific basis for its actions as part of its commitments to World Trade Organization rules,” says Everson. “We need to consider all options to support predictable, rules-based trade, a critical requirement for Canadian agriculture.”

The canola industry is hoping that this consultation can resolve the dispute so that further steps toward WTO dispute resolution will not be necessary.

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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.