On Monday, July 18 NAEGA and NGFA submitted joint comments to Global Affairs Canada regarding consultations on the renegotiation and modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAEGA and NGFA joint comments laid out five negotiating priorities, including:

• Maintaining all market access and tariff concessions.
• Creating a Rapid Response Mechanism.
• Enhancing science based SPS rules.
• Adopting risk management and risk assessment procedures that prevent the use of non-tariff barriers that lack scientific merit.
• Promoting regulatory consistency and cooperation provisions.
• Strengthening efforts to address TBT matters.
• Increasing transparency and cooperation on modern agricultural production technologies.
• Enabling the innovation of information technologies that improve logistics and regulatory implementation to facilitate trade.
• Ensuring safe, orderly and secure passage for rail and truck freight transportation with member countries.

In addition, the statement also calls on the Canadian government to preserve all current market access concessions and address ongoing market access challenges related to the dairy industry.

A copy of the comments can be found here.