Canadian officials and stakeholders in the agriculture industry met in Ottawa to talk trade.
Canada, the United States and Mexico are working towards modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement and Canada wants to see a stronger agricultural market under the new deal.
"A strong NAFTA is important for our farmers and our economy. Millions of sector jobs across North America are supported by NAFTA, which has helped grow agricultural trade between our three nations to $85 billion annually. Our Government will continue to work together with Canadian farmers to ensure trade remains an engine of growth and prosperity for our nations,” said The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
NAFTA has nearly quadrupled agricultural trade in North America over the past 25 years, with trilateral trade reaching nearly $1 trillion U.S. in 2016 with Canada and the U.S. each other's largest trade partner. Mexico is Canada's fourth largest export market.
Supply management is also an issue MacAulay said will be protected in a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement. He stated the government is ready to defend the system that works well for farmers and consumers and is a model for the world.
Monday's roundtable included stakeholders from a cross section of industries ranging from beef to dairy to grains.
