Manitoba Prepares to Defend its Agricultural Loan Programs
Farmscape for April 27, 2004 (Episode 1502) Manitoba's Agriculture Minister says the province is reviewing programs it offers, which have targeted by a US probe into imports of live Canadian hogs, as it prepares to defend those programs. Petitions filed with the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission on behalf of American pork producers allege subsidized Canadian hogs are being dumped into the US hurting US prices. Long term low interest loans offered by the Manitoba Agricultural Credit Corporation are among the programs listed in the complaint as providing subsidies. Rosann Wowchuk says the province is reviewing those programs as it puts together the necessary defense. Clip-Rosann Wowchuk-Manitoba Agriculture Minister When ever we put in place programs, we are very conscious that we are an exporting country and we are an exporting province so we give very serious consideration as to whether there could be impacts on trade by these programs. When they were developed we were confident that there wasn't an opportunity to countervail because of these programs but we now have to look at the challenge that has been put forward and put forward our defenses. We have legal council that's reviewing it, our department staff at MACC is reviewing it and we will state our position in our submission but, as I say, we know we are exporters. We look at programs in other countries and certainly there are significant programs in the United States that support their producers that impact on agriculture in this province. However we felt that we were within the rules and we will have to review that now and defend it. Wowchuk says Manitoba takes this issue very seriously and is working closely with the federal government as well as on several of its own initiatives in an effort to resolve the situation. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane. *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council