Obama’s change government will impact Canadian agriculture

Obama’s grassroots presidential campaign and promises of change was successful, but what will it mean to Canadian agriculture?

During his leadership quest Barack Obama stated that he will reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) if elected president.   President-elect Obama’s rural plan supports implementation of the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law, which requires that all meat products indicate their country of origin.

Ron Bonnett, 2^nd Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) says that two issues will have the most impact: the general state of the economy, and trade.  “What Obama does to stabilize the markets will be important.  There is a cost of credit when trying to bring stability in to the market,” said Bonnett in a telephone interview last week.

When Obama becomes president on January 20, 2009, the major issue facing the new administration will be the financial crisis and what to do about it.  This may delay emphasis on other areas including agricultural issues, such as COOL and NAFTA for a while.

When it comes to trade, especially NAFTA and COOL, Bonnett says, “Canada needs to keep an eye on this closely, as it could have a great effect on costs to farmers and to consumers.” 

Bonnett said that, “COOL has already had a negative impact on livestock producers here in Canada.”  Some meat plants in the US are already refusing to accept Canadian cattle and hogs for processing and that this will put more Canadian producers out of business.  Under COOL, Canadian cattle and pigs must be kept segregated in US feedlots and packing plants.  The inconvenience and costs associated with this has some deciding to deal in US produced livestock only.

Commodities covered under COOL include:  muscle cuts of beef (including veal), lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, ground goat, and ground pork; wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish; perishable agricultural commodities (fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables); macadamia nuts; pecans; ginseng; and peanuts.

 

“It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America,” Obama said in his historical victory address.

 

Change has and will continue to come to those who trade with the US.  How much Obama’s new policies will hinder cross border trade with Canada, how new rules will impact on Canadian farmers and consumers and how great the effect the US financial crisis will have on commodity prices around the world is history in the making.  As stated by CFA’s Bonnett, “It remains to be seen how Obama’s presidency will affect Canadian agriculture.”