Governments tend to forget about consumers when managing supply. Open trade to more cheese and challenge our farmers
Cheese heads – it’s what Canadians are called in many of the United States border regions. It’s because when many Canadians visit their American neighbours, they head straight to the nearest supermarket and buy cheese – and milk and eggs. Dairy and eggs are much more expensive in Canada than in the U.S., even when…
Against the backdrop of an increasingly fraught political relationship between the U.S. and Mexico, what should Canada do?
The contentious (and sometimes very public) North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the U.S., Canada and Mexico likely got more complicated with the recent election of a new president of Mexico. While Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known as AMLO) says he wants a successful outcome to the NAFTA talks, he’s an outspoken critic of…
By blowing up NAFTA, Trump would be forcing Canada to take control of its future once again and commit to building common bonds to preserve our nation's integrity
It’s ironic that U.S. President Donald Trump's madcap protectionism might do more for Canadian unity than our timid political leaders have accomplished in decades. Ever since the first Canada-United States trade deal in 1988, which started the process of continental economic integration, we Canadians have slowly been distancing ourselves from one another. Worse, we haven’t…
Supply management is protectionism by another name. And domestic protectionism shouldn’t be ignored as we seek freer trade
A significant amount of ink is being dedicated on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border to the trade conflict that President Donald Trump precipitated at the end of the G7 meetings in Charlevoix, Que. Trump wants a better trade footing for the United States, pointing out that tariffs of around 270 per cent are slapped…
Donald Trump wants to make American great again. But his trade protectionism will hurt Americans and trade partners alike
How do you make a country great? We in the enlightened West generally agree that a liberal democracy with free markets works best. Look at the United States in the 20th century – the richest and most powerful country. Its political power and military might were eclipsed only by the high and rising standard of…
Duties may look like attractive, simple mechanisms to protect domestic interests. But they’re a very expensive way to retain jobs
The ugly face of protectionism is slowly making its way across the globe. With trade wars looming on several fronts, including in the agri-food sector, Canada's federal government seems resolved to lose. Bill Morneau is obviously an influential figure in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, but he’s no finance minister – despite his title. Given…
The new Trans-Pacific deal will boost agri-food industries. But it’s a nail in the coffin for Canada's protectionist supply-management sectors
Canada is making its trade intentions crystal clear and that's good news for most agri-food industries, although our supply-management sectors face big challenges. Even as the North American Free Trade Agreement talks continue, we've learned that the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn’t dead after all, although the trade deal among Pacific Rim countries has a new name:…
And if they are, Canadian consumers with have NAFTA 2.0 and Donald Trump to thank for the decrease in the price of dairy products
Canada's supply management system is a textbook case for food sovereignty. But the social contract the system represents may need to be redrafted as we head toward North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations. Supply management is a social contract between farmers and consumers. Canada’s heavily-criticized quota regime for the dairy, egg and poultry industries was…
If Canada eliminated its supply management system and the U.S. opened up the softwood lumber industry, both countries would benefit economically
U.S. President Donald Trump has attacked Canada’s supply management system. He believes certain American industries, including the dairy sector, have been crushed by Canada’s “wasteful destructive job killing regulations” – and the U.S. “demands fair trade with all of our trading partners … and that includes Canada.” He’s absolutely correct: supply management is an archaic,…
At the heart of Canada-U.S. trade problems is the wildly fluctuating Canadian dollar
Canadians have expressed relief that U.S. President Donald Trump only wants to “tweak” trade relations with Canada and not rewrite our portion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This is partly pragmatic, since trade between the U.S. and Canada is huge, worth upwards of $540 billion in 2015. In fact, it's clear that the…