Mission to Washinton D.C. for Cross-Border Forum on Agricultural Interdependence meetings, July 18 & 19, 2007

• To attend and participate in an Agriculture Policy Forum sponsored by Alberta Agriculture and Food.
• To meet with the Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to advance Alberta's agriculture trade interests.
• To develop strong relationships with key government officials and industry groups in the United States (US).

• Honourable George Groeneveld, Minister of Agriculture and Food, led a mission to Washington, D.C. on June 18 and 19, 2007.
• Minister Groeneveld delivered opening remarks and a keynote luncheon speech at the Cross Border Forum on Agricultural Interdependence at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars.
• Minister Groeneveld met with Charles F. Conner, Deputy Secretary of the USDA, to discuss the resumption of trade in cattle over 30 months of age (OTM) and to express Alberta’s opposition to mandatory Country of Origin labeling in the US.
• Minister Groeneveld also met with Alberta’s legal counsel in Washington, D.C. to discuss legal issues around the resumption of trade in cattle and beef with the US.

• Advocate Alberta’s agricultural trade interests in the US;
• Advance Canada-US-Mexico dialogue and increase understanding of agriculture policy approaches in each country; and
• Enhance Alberta’s profile and relationships with US industry associations and key government officials.

• Minister Groeneveld met with legal counsel from Arnold and Porter LLP who provided an update and perspective on the regulatory changes needed in the US to resume trade in cattle OTM and beef from OTM cattle.
• Counsel also provided an update on the progress of the Ranchers Cattlemen’s Legal Action Fund-United Stockgrowers of America’s (R-CALF) challenge of the USDA’s decision to resume trade in OTM cattle and in beef from those cattle.

• Minister Groeneveld met with Mr. Charles Conner, Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture. Minister Groeneveld thanked the USDA for its publication of a preliminary rule to restore trade in cattle OTM and beef from cattle OTM. Minister Groeneveld emphasized the need for the USDA to publish the final rule allowing the resumption of trade in OTM cattle and beef as quickly as possible. Minister Groeneveld also reiterated Alberta’s concerns regarding the effect of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COL) on the
• North American meat and livestock industry. Deputy Secretary Conner and Minister Groeneveld also discussed the prospects for an ambitious agreement from the Doha Round of WTO negotiations.
• Minister Groeneveld attended and participated in a half-day “Cross Border Forum on Agricultural Interdependence: North American Agriculture in a Connected World”.
• USDA Deputy Secretary Conner and Minister Groeneveld opened the forum. It consisted of one panel discussion on the need for agricultural policy in North America to adapt to global competition and one panel discussion on the implications of mandatory COL in the North American meat and livestock market.
• The policy panel stressed the need for deeper cooperation between the NAFTA partners, particularly on regulations that affect trade, and to avoid regulations that slow or impede the movement of goods and people across borders.
• One suggestion arising from this discussion was a Blue-ribbon panel that would suggest areas where agricultural trade would benefit from increased regulatory cooperation.
• The COL panel concluded that mandatory COL, as it is currently written, will be expensive, highly disruptive, and will offer no benefit to producers. The panel also concluded that despite these drawbacks, mandatory COL will most likely be implemented without major changes.
• Panelists and participants were drawn from Canada, the US and Mexico. Approximately 55 people representing governments, universities, think tanks, industry associations, and businesses attended the forum. The forum was held at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars and was sponsored by Alberta Agriculture and Food.
• The forum concluded with a luncheon featuring Minister Groeneveld and former Congressman Charles Stenholm, as keynote speakers.
• In his keynote address Minister Groeneveld spoke about the strength and potential of a truly integrated North American agriculture industry, and emphasized Alberta’s specific priorities in agricultural trade: a new WTO agreement resulting in a substantial reduction in tariffs and trade-distorting subsidies; the need to abandon mandatory COL as it is currently written in the US farm bill; the opportunity a new farm bill presents to reform US agricultural policy; and the urgent need to restore trade in OTM cattle and beef.
• Minister Groeneveld’s remarks regarding mandatory COL were reported in the June 20, 2007 edition of the Washington Trade Daily.
• Minister Groeneveld also met with staff from the Canadian Embassy in Washington, who provided an update on the current political and economic situation in the US and its effect on Canada’s priorities in agricultural trade.