Can Supply Management Survive in a More Open International Trade Environment?
October 19, 2005 Mike Gifford and Bill Dymond The Senate Chamber (608 Robertson Hall), Carleton University 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa Four years ago the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched negotiations to further reduce global trade barriers. In December 2005 in Hong Kong, Canada’s trade and agriculture ministers will join ministers from 148 countries to provide the political impetus necessary to push these highly complex negotiations into their final stages. On the table will be the modalities – the changes in trade rules and how and by how much to reduce trade barriers – for concluding the negotiations. Under this scenario the negotiations will conclude by late 2006 or early 2007 with the new rules and reductions in trade barriers starting to be implemented in 2008. While full agreement may not be reached in Hong Kong, it is nevertheless possible to discern the general outline of the likely results in agriculture. Trade in agriculture is the pivot point around which the negoti
