The Edmonton Journal
Pierre Pettigrew set to fight subsidies in agricultural dispute
James Baxter, Southam Newspapers; Southam News
Hopes for a new round of WTO negotiations will have to take a back seat next year to the meat-and-potatoes issues that dominate Canada's billion-dollar-a-day trade with the United States, Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew says.
After nearly 18 months of attempts to jump-start a new round of talks at the World Trade Organization, nasty battles with Brazil over export subsidies on jet aircraft and sowing the seeds for a Free Trade Area of the Americas, Pettigrew said next year's expected economic downturn will require that he turn his focus to some old staples of Canada-U.S. trade relations, such as softwood lumber and agricultural products, known in trade circles as "hogs and logs."
In a year-end interview, Pettigrew admitted that Canadian grain and livestock farmers have been the main victims in the vicious agricultural subsidy battle between the U.S. and the European Union and said fighting those subsidies will be a top priority in 2001. But, Pettigrew cautions, Canada is not about to subsidize its own farmers.
"It's a folly those subsidies," he said. "It costs a great deal of money which is a waste. Our commitment is to eliminate them."
Pettigrew also announced plans to appoint a special envoy to begin building the foundations for a new softwood lumber treaty to replace the current agreement that expires in March. Both Canada and the U.S. have expressed interest in revising the deal, but Canadian trade officials say the lame-duck Clinton White House has been reluctant to open negotiations, preferring to leave it to the new administration.
Pettigrew says he is optimistic that President-elect George W. Bush will be able to breathe new life into softwood lumber negotiations and other U.S. trade initiatives, most of which have been virtually moribund because of Bill Clinton's poisonous personal relations with Congress.
Most experts expect Bush and his office of the U.S. Trade Representative to have a better relationship with Congress and be more able to deal with the often disparate interests of northern border states.
"I am looking forward to see who will be the trade representative. That is a very crucial position, but we know the people there (at USTR) and we are used to working with them," said Pettigrew.
"Yes, there will be (protectionist) pressures (from within Republican ranks) but at the same time, we have a president who is very determined in terms of free trade and I think that will help a great deal. I am confident that his weight will be on the right side of these issues."
Pettigrew is also confident that the four-year battle with Brazil over export subsidies on regional jet aircraft will come to a peaceful end in the coming year. He said the WTO's decision to allow Canada the right to retaliate against Brazilian imports will likely force the South American country to negotiate a good-faith settlement.
"We will do everything we can to bring them back to the table or otherwise we will have to proceed (with punitive tariffs)," said Pettigrew.:
