Agri-Food Exporters Welcome Commitment to Negotiate a Multi- Country Interim Arbitration Arrangement

Dan Darling, President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) today issued the following statement regarding news that Canada and multiple other countries are committing to negotiate an interim arbitration arrangement due to the loss of functionality of the WTO’s Appellate Body

“It’s very positive to see Canada leading efforts to keep the appeal function of the WTO working with an interim mechanism. While this is good news for exporters, finding a permanent resolution to the current blockage of the Appellate Body should remain the priority.

“We believe the WTO must remain at the core of a multilateral trading system that provides stability and predictability for all of its 164 members. That is why we have supported efforts to modernize and reform the WTO and offered specific reform recommendations as part of our 2020 priorities.

“We remain ardent supporters of all efforts to modernize the WTO to 21st century realities and preserve the valuable role it has played in successfully underpinning stable trade”

 

“As Canada’s agri-food exports grow to record levels, this announcement is a reassurance there’s support for global trade continuing to be based on rules.

“We remain ardent supporters of all efforts to modernize the WTO to 21st century realities and preserve the valuable role it has played in successfully underpinning stable trade for decades. While much work remains, we urge the Canadian government to continue working with trading partners to advance WTO reform.

“We thank Minister Ng for defending the rules-based global trading system and we look forward to working with her and the Canadian government as WTO reforms efforts continue.”

CAFTA is the voice of Canadian agri-food exporters, representing the 90% of farmers who depend on trade and the ranchers, producers, processors and agri-food exporters who want to grow the economy through better access to international markets. This includes the beef, pork, meat, grains, cereals, pulses, soybeans, canola as well as the sugar, malt, and processed food industries. The sectors CAFTA represents support over a million jobs in urban and rural communities across Canada.