International Trade committee  We wouldn't want to see the agreement that's before us be the final agreement.

International Trade committee  Absolutely.

International Trade committee  They actually have excess production. They are exporting some to Venezuela. In fact, there were border problems with Venezuela the week we were there. Venezuela had closed down the border, and they were wondering what they were going to do with this extra million pounds of beef t

International Trade committee  I would say we're not concerned about being able to compete with them on quality. I think we'll still compete pretty well on quality.

International Trade committee  They've described their efforts to us. Before we went down, we didn't really know who FEDEGAN were, if they were the guys to talk to. They clearly are the guys down there. They are funded by a check-off. For every animal that's slaughtered they receive about U.S. $6, and about

International Trade committee  Having learned what was in the U.S. agreement, we sat down with the officials in the Canadian government who are negotiating. They mentioned to us that in every session they've had with the Colombian negotiators, the Colombians brought their cattle industry advisers with them. So

International Trade committee  No, we're pleased with the information we're getting from them and the cooperation we're receiving from the Canadian negotiators.

International Trade committee  We're supporting the negotiations. Once we see what the agreement is, then we'll be glad to come back and give the thumbs up or thumbs down.

International Trade committee  The most recent year that we had beef exports to Colombia was 2002. We haven't exported any since they closed down for BSE in 2003. We believe that Colombia is going to reopen soon. I can't give a date. But in 2002 we exported about $1.1 million worth of product. It was about 1,

International Trade committee  We want to have the same terms of access as the United States. I didn't mention it in my presentation, but the Colombia tariff on beef is 80%--that's eight zero. As Bob mentioned, that's their applied tariff; they have a higher bound tariff. If they want to increase it, they ca

International Trade committee  I would say our beef industry is built on exports. About 60% of the cattle and beef produced in Canada is exported. About 80% of that goes to the United States. How to diversify into other markets is a constant challenge. We need these accesses. I wouldn't say it's a question of

International Trade committee  Absolutely, yes.

International Trade committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the opportunity to appear before you again. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association also appreciates and applauds the government's efforts to open markets for Canadian exports and Parliament's willingness to seek our input into the conten

Agriculture committee  You're right. It's very easy, and I'd agree with everything Don mentioned. Once you start to get into more complex products, it becomes very difficult. You gave yogourt as an example. I was thinking of a meat lasagna, where you've got meat, maybe you've got two or more kinds of c

Agriculture committee  I don't have any numbers here with me today. I think there would be such variability among the products and where they were being produced, it would be very difficult to come up with general statements as to the cost of doing those sorts of things. We could give anecdotes or exam