NEW YORK (Reuters) - Canada will continue to defend a tariff structure that supports its farmers as the country pushes for entry into a pan-Pacific trade pact, Canada's trade minister said on Monday.
News reports have suggested Australia and New Zealand are unhappy about Canada's supply management system, which protects its agricultural sector by setting producer quotas and prices on farm commodities such as milk and poultry, and putting stiff tariffs on imports.
Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast said his country has the support of most of the countries involved in negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.
The proposed trade pact currently includes the United States, Australia and seven others. Canada announced its interest in joining late last year. Japan and Mexico have also said they want to be in the pact.
"We have said very clearly we are prepared to discuss all matters on the negotiating table, but we also have made it very clear we will continue to defend Canada's system of supply management," said Fast in an interview.
"We've made it very clear to our farmers we will aggressively defend their interests in the negotiations," Fast later added.
Fast, in New York to make the case for Canada's inclusion, said Canada would be an ally for the United States at the negotiating table.
"I think there's a general understanding that Canada needs to be at the table because of how much we have in common," Fast said.
The United States and Canada are the world's biggest goods trading partners. According to official U.S. data, two-way trade in 2010 totaled $525 billion.
Fast said it was difficult to gauge where the total support for Canada was, though he added his meetings in the United States have been "very, very positive".
(Reporting By Leah Schnurr; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/canada-defend-farmers-interests-pacific-talks-152819371.html
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