Report on Results: Mexico-Canada Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA)

APRIL 7, 2011 - MEXICO

The plenary session was held at the SAGARPA headquarters on Thursday, April 7. It was co-chaired by Mr. Steve Tierney, Assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Ms. Debra Bryanton, Executive Director (International Policy) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for Canada, and Mr. Mariano Ruiz Funes, Undersecretary of Agriculture, Secretariat of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), and Dr. Enrique Sanchez Cruz, Chief Director, National Service for Agriculture Health and Quality (SENASICA).

a) In terms of trade, the following topics were discussed:

• Recognition of the Mexican cattle slaughtering system
• SENASICA’s new Zoosanitary Requirements Sheet (HRZ)
• Recognition of Mexico as a country free of classical swine fever
• Market access for Canadian poultry meat and meat products
• Exportation of sheep and goats
• Pest risk analysis to establish conditions for importing blueberry plantlets from Canada
• Notification of shipments of Canadian grains by rail
• Importation of chickpeas for purposes of propagation
• Approval of the Export Zoosanitary Certificate form for meat products
• Canadian millet and sorghum
• BSE: Market access for Canadian beef and beef products derived from cattle over 30 months of age (OTM).

With respect to OTM beef, Mexico’s Federal Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS) reported that a working group made up of Mexican academics in the area of epidemiology from SENASICA and COFEPRIS had been established to review this topic.

Based on the group’s assessment of risks from a public health perspective, COFEPRIS reported that Mexico had opted to keep 30 months of age as the maximum for access to meat and bovine cattle. Mexico offered to share a copy of its technical assessment by the end of April 2011. Canada will review and provide comments as appropriate.

Both parties agreed to continue working to find a solution to this issue.

b) In matters of cooperation, the most significant aspects were:

• Proposal for a NAFTA ministerial meeting

Mexico stated that this meeting should focus on how to carry out joint actions to enter third markets, such as Asia, in addition to strengthening integration with a view to achieving growth in the region.

Mexico suggested selecting companies with development plans to identify areas of interest and introducing them to the export market. The meeting would be held in six months. The profile of the participants will be determined with the United States and Canada.

• United States Food Safety Modernization Act

Canada and Mexico agreed on the importance of cooperating in monitoring how the legislation is implemented, to ensure requirements are not more restrictive than necessary.

• Regulatory cooperation

Mexico’s Ministry of the Economy reported that a summit on this topic to be held in January of next year will seek to eliminate unnecessary barriers to trade and establish mechanisms to facilitate the flow of trade. A high-level council was established for that purpose and is preparing the terms of reference and work agenda for ensuring convergence in the field of regulatory cooperation.

It was reported that the United States will hold a public consultation so that the private sector can offer its opinions on regulatory cooperation. This topic will remain on the agenda of the CCA to keep both sides informed.

• G20 meeting

Canada commented that France, the country that currently chairs the G-20, supports the initiative of continuing with internal support policies, regulation and control of financial markets. Canada considers that governments must be careful not to interfere with price regulation.

Canada suggested increasing productivity through biotechnology, promoting stable and transparent rules in markets to meet demand. It also proposed working with multilateral institutions to ensure more active participation.

• Low-Level Presence (LLP)

Canada and Mexico agreed on the importance of scientific decision making and continuing to work together, in fora such as the G20, to reach an agreement on LLP. The role of biotechnology is growing increasingly important in light of the need to increase productivity and satisfy the world’s food demand. Multilateral institutions need to be strengthened, so that there is reliable source for scientific testing.

Lastly, Mexico emphasized the need to establish a strategic agenda in multilateral forums to present a common front with respect to agreed positions.