Agriculture and Forestry Minister Eric Hammill said he is very pleased with a trade panel decision released today which upholds Canada's system of supply management.
The final report of the US/Canada Supply Management Trade Panel upheld an earlier interim report which endorses Canada's right to apply tariffs on imports of supply managed commodities like dairy and poultry products. The trade panel's decision was unanimous.
"This is great news for producers of supply managed commodities," said Mr. Hammill. "The dairy and poultry sectors make a major contribution to the Prince Edward Island economy and their continued stability is vital."
Mr. Hammill said that close cooperation between both levels of government and the industry ensured Canada's position was maintained and strengthened in the decision. He said Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's role in defending this country's trade interests is an important one.
Bloyce Dingwell, Chairman of the Prince Edward Island Milk Marketing Board, said that the dairy industry is extremely pleased with the Panel decision. "We said from the beginning that our system of tariffs and tariff rate quotas in support of supply management is fully consistent with NAFTA and the GATT agreement," he said.
Bill Hicken, Chairman of the Prince Edward Island Egg Commodity Marketing Board, said that Island egg producers are also pleased with the ruling. "Finally, producers can make some meaningful long-term plans to meet the challenges they face over the next decade," he said.
Mr. Hammill said the decision shows the dispute settlement mechanism under NAFTA worked well in this case, and he hopes the decision will help strengthen relationships with Canada's trading partners.