Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Our government's position in the agriculture negotiations is to continue to support and defend Canada's supply management system, and we'll continue to aggressively defend supply management in these negotiations.
As I mentioned earlier, we have a two-track set of objectives here: we're trying to preserve our domestic programs, like supply management, but at the same time we're trying to provide opportunities for export-oriented industries, which represent roughly 90% of the farm-gate receipts in Canada.
What I can say is that in the negotiations on sensitive products, proposals on the table, in terms of the number or percentage of tariff lines that members would be allowed to protect in an overall tariff reduction offer, range from 0% to over 12%. We have been part of those negotiations, and continue to be actively engaged in those negotiations. We have also argued for seeking the kind of flexibility in the treatment of sensitive products that would imply zero tariff reductions to those sensitive sectors. But that's the negotiation going on right now.
Japan would also like to protect its 1,000% tariff on rice. Other WTO members would like to gain better access into the Japanese rice market. This is the kind of pressure we're facing, too. Certain WTO members want access to our dairy, poultry, and egg markets. We continue to defend them vigorously in the negotiations.