DFC reacts to the Government’s assessment of potential economic impact of CPTPP

Article 2 min

On February 20, the Government of Canada announced the release of an analysis on the economic impacts of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes those of market access concessions made on the dairy sector.

By Pierre Lampron, President Pierre Lampron

Pierre Lampron is President of Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) and has been a dairy farmer since 1987 in the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec.

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Highlights

  • An increase of $135.1 million in dairy imports is expected as a result of the market access conceded in the CPTPP.
  • DFC estimates the impact on dairy farmers to be $160 million per year.

This analysis shows an expected increase of $135.1 million in dairy imports as a result of the market access conceded in the agreement. DFC estimates the impact on dairy farmers to be $160 million per year, representing a loss of 3.1% of today's milk production in Canada. Although the Government’s methodology was not shared in this document, it seems that it underestimates the impact of the concessions made in the CPTPP on the Canadian dairy industry.

We are asking government officials to clarify their methodology, to ensure a common understanding of the full impact of the market access conceded. The Government must realize that there is a cumulative effect to carve outs, in CETA, and now CPTPP, which cannot be understated. These negative impacts are borne by the same hundreds of thousands of farmers and workers in the Canadian dairy sector.

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