The Chair of Manitoba Pork says both U.S. and Canadian pork producers would benefit from improved U.S. access to world pork markets.
A delegation representing Manitoba Pork travelled to Des Moines last week for the annual Iowa Pork Congress and to meet with fellow producers and government officials and will be in Minneapolis next week for the Minnesota Pork Congress.
George Matheson, the Chair of Manitoba Pork, says, with recent developments on the trade front, trade remains a priority among Canadian American pork producers.
Canadian producers, for a hog price, take the U.S. national price so we fully realize that it’s important that U.S. producers do well and U.S. producers have access to the same free trade relations that we have. Both countries are pleased with the fact that NAFTA was replaced with something like the USMCA trade agreement that would eliminate trade tariffs. Tariffs are not fully removed yet between Mexico and the U.S. but they’re heading in that direction so we’re looking forward to that happening. It’s not a case that we’re in competition with each other.
We’re part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The U.S. is not right now. For Canadian producers it would be a good thing for America to be a part of that trade agreement. We’re on the same page, we want to have the same agreements, we’re both free traders, we realize we’re an integrated industry that would benefit from free trade for all.
~ George Matheson, Manitoba Pork
Matheson notes Manitoba Pork Has been making these trips to the U.S. for the past 14 years while pork producers from Iowa and Minnesota have visited Manitoba and relations are very good. He says, in his four years as Chair of Manitoba Pork, he has never had any disagreements with his U.S. counterparts.
