Yesterday’s approval of a comprehensive free-trade deal between Canada and the European Union (EU) could be good for beef exports.
Exports from Canada currently total around $8-million, with the deal set to allow for exports of up to $600-million. As a whole, Alberta’s entire agriculture industry already exports about $300-million to the EU.
(Photo/Lethbridge News Now)
John Masswohl from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will include about 65,000 tonnes of beef to the EU annually, duty-free.
“I would estimate that about two-thirds of the new beef exports will likely come from Alberta,” said Masswohl. “The key thing about this deal is that it gets rid of the tariff, which is prohibitively high.”
CETA will wipe out 98 percent of the tariffs on both sides of the deal.
With the tariff down, University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe prices fall and consumers stretch their income a little further.
“It’s the biggest deal since NAFTA,” said Tombe. “It covers about $100-billion in trade from Canada to the EU last year. And that’s not even counting the trade growth the deal itself will cause going forward.”
CETA also wipes out any tariffs imposed on Canadian wheat production.
Kevin Auch of the Alberta Wheat Commission says the trade deal gives Canada a large competitive advantage over the United States.
“We rely so heavily on export markets,” said Auch. “Any time we can secure this type of trade deal, it’s always good for Canadian farmers, as well as wheat farmers in particular.”
– Posted by BET
