Ottawa-Any alliance Canada creates with the European Union (EU) must include Canadian agriculture and food products, says the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA).

In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, CAFTA President Greg Northey urged that food, feed and farm inputs be part of any partnership.

“Agri-food trade depends on a stable, rules-based environment to allow producers to make investment decisions and take advantage of our trade agreements, both existing and future.”

“The promise of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has not yet been fully realized by our sector.”

Farm Credit Canada estimates Europe represents a further $4 to $5 billion in export opportunity for Canadian food and beverages. The current relationship benefits European agri-food products.

As Canada seeks to double its non-U.S. exports, it is essential that its trade agreements deliver commercially meaningful and reciprocal market access, Northey said.

“While European producers continue to benefit from preferential access to the Canadian market under CETA, Canadian agri-food exporters face non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that increase costs, undermine competitiveness and limit their ability to establish and expand exports to Europe.”

The barriers put Canadian producers and food manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage and undermine the economic opportunities CETA was intended to create.

Addressing these barriers is critical to achieving Canada’s trade diversification objectives and ensuring that the benefits of its growing partnership with Europe flow in both directions.

CAFTA wants a standing agri-food working group established under the new partnership reporting to ministers and including industry representatives alongside government officials to identify, prioritize and resolve trade barriers and drive practical collaboration.

A joint work plan, defined timelines, and regular progress reports should ensure that commitments translate into measurable results for the agri-food sector.

Also, there should be science-based pesticide maximum residue limits that follow Codex and risk-based assessment, with a mandatory trade and supply impact assessment before limits are lowered for substances not approved in the EU.

There should be clear timelines and named contacts for sanitary and phytosanitary approvals, effective and timely recognition of equivalent systems and resolution of outstanding requirements affecting Canadian pork and other meat exports.

Progress should be measured through agreed milestones and commercially viable market access.

The Canada-EU Digital Trade Agreement now under negotiation should include electronic phytosanitary and health certificates and paperless customs for agricultural goods.

There should also be a shared commitment to rules-based trade and Canada and the EU working together to strengthen the World Trade Organization (WTO).

That would include appeal and dispute settlement, building trade-rule compliance into how new measures are made, early notification of draft measures, trade-impact and WTO-consistency review before measures are finalised and use of the CETA committees as an early-warning channel.

Measures grounded in Codex and risk-based science protect European consumers and keep supply chains open, and they reduce the need for disputes that neither side wants.

Northey said CAFTA will continue to collaborate with the government to strengthen the position of food exports and it would welcome the opportunity to contribute to an agri-food working group under the new partnership.