Federal Government Disappointed with American Wheat Decision.Business Editors OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2000 The Government of Canada The Government of Canada is the federal government of Canada. The powers and structure of the federal government are set out in the Constitution of Canada. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" (or "federal government") refers broadly to the cabinet of the day and took a strong stand today against what it calls an unfounded American attack on Canada's wheat trade policies and practices. The U.S. government has decided to go ahead with a Section 301 investigation targeting Canadian government policies and trading practices of the Canadian Wheat Board The Canadian Wheat Board (known at times as the Canada Wheat Board or by the acronym CWB) was established by the Parliament of Canada in 1935 as a producer marketing system for wheat and barley. It is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (CWB). The possibility of an investigation arose Sept. 8 when the North Dakota Wheat Commission (NDWC NDWC North Dakota Wheat Commission NDWC National Disaster Warning Center (Thailand) ) filed a petition with the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The NDWC sees such an investigation as a step toward the U.S. government placing import restrictions on Canadian wheat and acting to counter CWB pricing practises in third market countries. The initiation of an investigation does not mean that the U.S. government is taking trade action. Canada will continue to press the U.S. not to restrict Canada's market access or otherwise interfere with the CWB's legitimate pursuit of the best returns available for Western Canadian wheat producers. The Government of Canada stressed that any action that fails to respect Canada's North American Free Trade Agreement North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994. (NAFTA NAFTA in full North American Free Trade Agreement Trade pact signed by Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in 1992, which took effect in 1994. Inspired by the success of the European Community in reducing trade barriers among its members, NAFTA created the world's ) and World Trade Organization (WTO See World Trade Organization. ) rights will be challenged. Eight separate U.S.-initiated investigations and audits since 1990 have confirmed that the CWB operates in compliance with international trade rules. The USTR has up to one year to complete the investigation and announce what, if any, action will follow. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion