Saskatchewan Discouraged by US Efforts to Impose Duties on Live Hogs

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Saskatchewan Discouraged by US Efforts to Impose Duties on Live Hogs

Mark Wartman - Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister
Farmscape for March 17, 2004 (Episode 1469) Saskatchewan's Agriculture Minister describes the latest effort by American farmers to have countervailing and antidumping duties imposed on Canadian agricultural products as discouraging. The National Pork Producers Council has filed anti-dumping and countervailing duty petitions to address increased imports of Canadian live hogs. Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Minister Mark Wartman says the entire North American hog industry is struggling and Canadian operations are suffering every bit as much as American operations. Clip-Mark Wartman-Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister This is just one more of those things. The people down there are hurting and it seems time and again, whether it's wheat or beef or what ever it is, that they go running to their countervail and antidumping duties and they get penalties thrown on our producers up here. When it comes right down to it there's never been much of substance found. I think we are fair traders and that's been our history and it's just very very discouraging. You've worked hard to get a free trade agreement and you hope the people will operate on that basis. We hope that they will take a real clear look at this before they impose any kind of even a temporary tariff. Such a huge market as the United States has so much potential to damage our economy whenever they take actions like this. I don't know whether they understand how much of an impact a huge economy like that has on our Canadian economy. I hope they will get a clear enough look at this and will realize taking out their frustrations on Canadian producers is not going to benefit them. It's certainly not going to benefit us so I hope that they will not be imposing tariffs. Wartman points out North American hog prices are set on a US standard and, just like their US counterparts, Canadian producers are struggling to get back their costs of production with few being able to do so. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane. *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council



Keywords: trade, countervail, antidumping, market, price, anti-dumping
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