International Trade Committee on Nov. 23rd, 2020

[Claire Citeau]

Sure. On the consultation piece, it's a two-way street. We are closely engaged in this negotiation and others. We monitor and follow it very closely. We've had conversations with the negotiators and the minister's office as well. [Technical difficulty—Editor] at consultation other than related [Technical difficulty—Editor] that and perhaps it has to do with the [Technical difficulty—Editor] for the file and difficulty navigating Brexit in itself, but it's been a bit different. For some of our members the process has been different from the onset. For some of them, it was a bit harder to follow than in previous FTA negotiations—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

There's no translation?

[Claire Citeau]

—so we had to pull them in, but that's the role CAFTA has played.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Ms. Citeau, we have a problem with the translation. Could you just hold on for a second?

It appears there's an issue with your network, Ms. Citeau, but let's try that again, your last minute or so.

[Claire Citeau]

On consultation, I was saying that it's a two-way street. We've been closely engaged with both negotiators and the minister's office. I will say that—

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

That's good—

[Claire Citeau]

—for some of our members, it has been a bit more difficult to navigate, but this is where CAFTA comes into the picture.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

Okay.

My final quick question—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Hold on, Mr. Lobb.

We're have a translation problem with Ms. Citeau. It seems it's on her side that the translators are having difficulty picking up her comments.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

I think her community's next for the rural broadband initiative, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Hopefully that's so.

Mr. Lobb, could you possibly go to another witness? Then we'll try to get through to Ms. Citeau to see if we can assist a little bit.

[Ben Lobb, Conservative, Huron—Bruce, ON]

My last question to her would be, to her understanding, what are the tariff rates in the interim agreement for Canadian beef and for Canadian pork?

[Claire Citeau]

What I can do, without providing details, because we have not yet seen the text of the recently announced interim agreement, and I think it's important that we see the text as soon possible, is to provide some brief examples of what the situation could look like on the grain side moving forward.

The reason that our grains and [Technical difficulty—Editor] exporters are pleased with the interim agreement is that with no agreement in place, they would lose the preferential tariff gains that were granted under the CETA. For them it certainly provides much-needed stability, which is very welcome. In the beef sector, for example, there are definitely concerns about non-tariff barriers, in particular at a time when the EU and the U.K. continue to send products into Canadian markets. I understand that they will appear this afternoon, so I will leave it to them to speak to the procedures and volumes that leave them with questions about the viability of the access promised. The pork side is similarly on the fence. They welcome the continuity that the deal provides, but we have to see what the market and conditions will really translate into for them.

For sugar and processed food products, there has been little uptake of opportunities in the EU because of a number of measures and trade-distorting subsidies that make our export uneconomic to the EU. As for the U.K., a traditional deal certainly provides welcome quota access. I will leave it to them to provide specifics as well, knowing that, again, we have not seen the text. It appears that over time there could be measures that could help reduce our trade deficits with the U.K. in food products.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Sarai.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to begin by thanking Minister Ng and her entire trade department on completing this great deal in a timely manner. This effort I think Canada and the U.K. have worked on. It brings certainty to a lot of our exporters and importers, and as the new year approaches, there's no deadline.

I also want to thank Ms. Bendayan, who has also worked behind the scenes on this one.

First, to Ms. Citeau from CAFTA, where can we see increases? What commodities that are currently perhaps not covered should be covered so that we can increase exports of Canadian agriculture products that Canadian trade negotiators should pay attention to going forward?

[Claire Citeau]

I think our understanding is that all the products covered under the CETA agreement in principle are also included in the interim agreement. Again, we have not seen the details of the text. Only with the text will we be able to get that assurance.

That being said, the real focus, the important point to really understand, is that the priority really should be for our members to negotiate a real meaningful deal with the U.K. We understand that the Prime Minister and the trade minister are committed to getting back to the negotiating table to do so in 2021. We welcome this, but we also urge them to do so and get back to the negotiating table to conclude a meaningful agreement that will remove non-tariff barriers and deliver on viable access.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Ms. Citeau, I understand that. I'm trying to figure out which commodities are areas that need more improvement past what was in CETA, or is currently probably in the transitional agreement. What areas are ones that Canadian exporters or Canadian industries are looking forward to having barriers removed for in order to increase their exports to the U.K.?

[Claire Citeau]

It's really in the area of non-tariff barriers. There remain very significant opportunities in the U.K. It is an important market for us right now, absorbing over the past five years between [Technical difficulty—Editor]—

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

I think we're losing you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Yes.

Ms. Citeau, we have lost you again—

[Claire Citeau]

—a third and a quarter of our exports [Technical difficulty—Editor]

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Maybe I will go to Ms. Campbell and ask the same question.

Where can Canada increase their exports with the U.K. going forward? Where should we concentrate our efforts in terms of negotiations so that we can increase our exports and make it easier for our manufacturers or our resource extractors to export to the U.K.?

[Kim Campbell]

Thank you very much for your question.

I definitely would concur that it's the non-technical trade barriers that seem to be the challenge, especially in the food space. It's things like what kind of ingredients have to go into foods. The U.K. might have restrictions, and actually so does Canada on the flip side on some things as well.

I think it's industry-specific. Probably the bigger challenge is around things that are health and safety issues like food and items like that. Probably we just need a little more time to reflect and give a fulsome response back to specific sectors.

Part of the challenge, too, is with helping our exporters. It's just the complications of trade. All exporters would have to report their exports to the U.K. It's just having to get onto a system, create documentation and those types of things, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. We could probably think about how we can support people better to do that.

You're always excited to get your sale, but then all of a sudden you can't get your goods to the market because there's a whole bunch of complication that you didn't understand. That's where a lot of the failure and challenges occur.

[Randeep Sarai, Liberal, Surrey Centre, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Sarai. I'm sorry.

We'll go to Mr. Savard-Tremblay.