Import of european cheeses: Quebec deplores the terms and conditions established by the federal

QMI agency

Thursday, August 3, 2017 23:46

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Thursday, August 3, 2017 23:46

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The government of Quebec has expressed its disagreement Thursday, with the terms and conditions set by Ottawa for the import of european cheeses in the framework of the free trade agreement with the european Union.

On Tuesday, Ottawa announced that after consultation it was decided that the allocation of tariff quotas and, consequently, the issuance of import licences – will be divided 50-50 between the manufacturers and the distributors and retailers on the other hand.

Term, over the period of five years determined by the comprehensive economic and trade Agreement between Canada and the european Union (CETA), 16 million kilograms of european cheeses that can be imported into Canada each year, benefiting from duty-free customs. For the industrial cheese used in the processing sector, a quota of 1.7 million pounds has been established at the same time.

Thursday, in a press release, the quebec minister of Agriculture, Laurent Lessard, and the minister of Economy, Dominique Anglade, have said that they deplored the fact that the federal government has not increased their focus on the businesses most affected by the CETA.

“The measures announced do not meet the expectations expressed by the government of Quebec, who wished to see preferred the cheese to be the most affected by the CETA, said the two ministers. In fact, the import quota of cheese will be allocated 50 % to manufacturers of cheese and 50 % to food retailers, while it is mostly the cheese-makers who will live through the repercussions.”

They also stressed that aid measures compensating the federal are inadequate.

“The investment Funds in the processing of dairy products [$100 million] is not intended primarily for cheese and does not provide a breakdown of the financial assistance function of the importance of the cheese production of the provinces,” they deplored, adding that “the province of Quebec produces nearly 60 % of the volume of cheese specialty made in the country.”

The quebec ministers have, however, stressed that”in relation to the investment Programme for the dairy farms that [$250 million], the federal government has taken account of the suggestion of Québec to support the investment as a proportion of production carried out by the provinces.”

The comprehensive economic and trade Agreement between Canada and the european Union should enter into force on the 21 September.