USMCA, worrisome for dairy says trade expert
Posted Oct 1, 2018 04:02:06 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An expert on international trade says Canada has preserved a lot of what was in the original NAFTA.
More details of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA are expected to be released later today.
A new era in North American free trade dawned in the dead of night Sunday as a 14-month NAFTA modernization effort between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico finally came to fruition with just hours to spare before an end-of-weekend deadline.
Peter Clark, President of Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates, says the biggest gain in Ontario is in automotive.
“I don't think putting quotas on people is free trade, but the quotas have been set at a level, which is significantly above current exports for both automobiles … and I believe also for parts. That was a big threat that was hanging over the economy, and it seems to be gone, you never say never with Trump,” Clark told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS.
But he does see some problems for dairy farmers.
“I understand the government is going to compensate them, that's not … the best way to do it in my view.” explained Clark.
“The more worrisome aspect of that deal is that the United States is dictating how we can market our milk … There's no exports to the United States, they get another 3.6 per cent out of our market.” he said.
Clarks adds the U.S. already has its own dairy subsidies that can be very disruptive.
Canadian dairy farmers have panned the renegotiated trade saying the new deal will undercut the industry by limiting exports and opening up the market to more American products.
It said the measures will have “a dramatic impact not only for dairy farmers but for the whole sector.”
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it was relieved that an agreement in principle had been reached. But President Perrin Beatty said the details of the text needed a closer look before a final verdict could be rendered.
“Specifically, we will seek clarity on how the agreement addresses the existing tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium, as well as how it will ensure that tariffs and quotas upon Canada’s auto sector exports will be avoided,” Beatty said in a statement.
with files from The Canadian Press
