Government of Canada hosts NAFTA roundtable
The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and the Honourable Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-United States Relations), held a roundtable with Canadian agricultural stakeholders, ranging from beef to dairy to grains. Discussions focused on how the sector can maximize the benefits of a modernized North American Free Trade Agreement and look at ways to make North America an even stronger agricultural market.
"A strong North American Free Trade Agreement is important for our farmers and our economy. Millions of sector jobs across North America are supported by North American Free Trade Agreement, which has helped grow agricultural trade between our three nations to $85 billion annually. Our Government will continue to work together with Canadian farmers to ensure trade remains an engine of growth and prosperity for our nations”, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, said.
“Since North American Free Trade Agreement was signed 23 years ago, North American trade in agriculture and food has quadrupled, and last year North America exported over a quarter of a trillion dollars in agri-food products to the world. Our success in recent decades is due in large part to the value of our trading relationships, and to the hard work of our agriculture and agri-food industries”, added the Honourable Andrew Leslie, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada-United States Relations).