The Executive Director of Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance suggests it will be up to Americans talking to Americans to bring resolution to a brewing trade war involving the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Despite a 30 day reprieve issued yesterday, Canadian and American farmers and consumers are braced for across-the-board tariffs on products moving across the Canada U.S. and U.S. Mexico borders.
Michael Harvey, the Executive Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, says Canadian and American farmers benefit from integrated supply chains that allow them to produce food together resulting in reduced risks and better returns for both and, for consumers, higher quality food at better prices.
At CAFTA, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, we represent Canada’s agri-food exporters so you look at meat, crops, processed foods, our members all export significantly. Canada produces way more food than it can consume, which is a great thing we’re giving to the world but we can only give it to the world if markets are open.
Both countries are highly dependent on trade. The U.S. less than Canada in that it’s a lot bigger internal market but American farmers export a lot too. We’re really producing food together so you’ll have cattle for instance or hogs will spend part of their life on one side of the border, part of their life on the other side of the border, get slaughtered in one country after having grown in another so putting an artificial barrier between the two countries would really take us backwards.
Consumers would pay more for their food, which hits the poor the most, people who are struggling to put a bigger percentage of their money into eating so the working class would get hurt worse than anybody in terms of consumers. Then, in terms of producers, absolutely anybody who’s selling across the border will come out it poorer because of a tariff system. It’s a terrible idea.
Michael Harvey, Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance
Harvey suggests, even though they may feel intimidated by a newly elected President who could turn on them, we need our American counterparts to speak out against these tariffs. He says it will be Americans talking to Americans that will avoid tariffs so we really need our American friends to speak up.
