International Trade committee  You would think so. Part of the problem is that these are very technical issues. When you talk about the timely approval of biotech traits or the need for predictable science-based import processes and the recognition of beef processing systems, there have been a number of CETA

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

International Trade committee  We've had discussions with the negotiators. We have not seen the text. I'd like to emphasize that there have been a number of best practices that have worked well in the past. We are recognizing that negotiators are working under tight timelines. It's important to maintain those

International Trade committee  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

International Trade committee  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

International Trade committee  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]—

International Trade committee  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 othe

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

International Trade committee  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—

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

International Trade committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee for the opportunity to present to you today. It's a pleasure to be back. As you know, CAFTA is the voice of Canadian agri-food exporters, representing the 90% of farmers who depend on trade and the producers and food manufactu

International Trade committee  There are mechanisms. There should be bilateral mechanisms in the case of bilateral free trade agreements and regional mechanisms in the case of regional free trade agreements such as the CPTPP. There is also the WTO, which sets the basis for the rules and, as you said, there are

International Trade committee  That is very much the fear. We saw how quickly countries were to adopt various measures to restrict trade. We can only fear what may come ahead, in particular as countries have talked about the need to turn inward to secure their own food supply. In our view, we need to diversi

International Trade committee  For the record, we represent a large portion of the agriculture and agri-food sector, not the supply management sector and not the wine industry but beef, pork, wheat, cereals, whole seeds, grains, pulses, malt, sugar and processed food products. We are very concerned about the

International Trade committee  I certainly think the road ahead is going to be rocky for us. We need to make sure our existing free trade agreements are going to work and that we continue to diversify, but we can't take for granted what we had before the pandemic. That's for sure.