Canadas Agriculture Exporters Thank Ministers Fortier, Ritz for Staying the Course

Geneva After concerns last week that negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meetings in Geneva were close to falling apart, potentially costing Canadian agricultural exporters billions of dollars in lost export opportunities, the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) is pleased and relieved that negotiations are continuing.

Countries involved in the meetings agreed to continue talking

after WTO Director General Pascal Lamy tabled a package of compromise parameters for agricultural tariff and subsidy reductions.

CAFTA, a coalition of national and regional organizations, associations and companies that support a more open and fair international trading environment for agriculture and agri-food, is urging Canadian negotiators to seek commercially meaningful market access gains for all Canadian agri-food products.