In a letter sent this week to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk that was signed by 45 Congressmen, it was requested that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations with Canada be used to address “shortcomings” in the North American Free Trade Agreement that have not achieved full market liberalization for U.S. poultry and dairy. TPP is a “valuable opportunity” to expand agricultural trade, especially for poultry and dairy with “our strategic northern ally,” the letter said.
The congressmen also urged that the TPP agreement contain provisions that prohibit Canada and other TPP countries from using sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other regulations that “act as de facto barriers to expanded trade.” The letter is available here.
In a related development, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative held an inter-agency public hearing this week on the issue of including Canada in the TPP negotiations. Bill Roenigk, senior vice president of the National Chicken Council, presented at the hearing a joint statement by NCC and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. In the prepared comments, it was stated that “the U.S. poultry industry strongly opposes Canada’s participation in the TPP unless Canada expresses commitment to removing all border restrictions on poultry imports from the United States.”
Rudy Husny, a spokesman for Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast, told Reuters that he was not responding directly to the U.S. groups’ demands. However, “in all our international trade negotiations, our government promotes Canada’s interests across all sectors to produce more jobs and greater prosperity for Canadians.” Husny added in his email to Reuters that “Canada is committed to developing a truly gold standard TPP agreement, reflecting a balanced outcome that meets the best interests of Canada.”
Canada and Mexico have officially requested to join the TPP negotiations. The United States, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have already been negotiating the deal for 30 months. A final TPP agreement is not likely until late 2013.
