Thank you to all the witnesses for being here today.
We won't talk about lawyers anymore.
From my perspective and from this committee's, what we're doing here today is trying to delve into preparation for what could happen. I mean, it's hypothetical at this point in time. We know that there are relevant issues around what the EU is doing and, when Donald Trump was last president, what he did right away for steel and aluminum, so we have to be prepared.
We know there's a greenhouse gas inventory and assessment program in the U.S. that they're utilizing right now. There are gaps in modelling and data collection, obviously, but I sit here and say that our farmers across this country, in all the different sectors, are likely on the leading-edge compared with most farmers around the world. To me, I say, let's find out and figure out whether this could be of benefit to us.
We know that in the U.S. right now they're measuring GHG emissions. We heard, when some of us were in the U.S., that they were starting that—and that was from congressmen. Some of these people were sitting around that table—and, believe me, they're pissed off at the EU for doing what it's doing—but that doesn't mean that we can sit back on our heels and wait for it to happen. I think right now is the time to dig in and come together—industries and governments at every level—to try to prepare for it in case it does happen, because I think it could be an advantage for us.
The other side of this is that there's a lot of talk about carbon credits and how that could eventually help farmers, bottom line, on their income balance sheet per se. I think there are challenges, obviously, and the discussion is about fair trade and reciprocity, but I think also that we need to prepare everybody for this and to all be working on the same page.
In 2022 the CCA—and I'll go to you guys first—the Canadian Cattle Association issued a release following meetings with its U.S.-Mexican counterparts regarding CUSMA. There was specific mention of working together on global challenges and non-tariff barriers faced by some jurisdictions. I'm just wondering whether carbon border adjustment mechanisms were part of those discussions.