George Morris Centre Expresses Frustration with US Trade Action
CANADA - Farm-Scape: Episode 1612. Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.Farm-Scape, Episode 1612
The Guelph, Ontario based George Morris Centre is voicing the frustration of Canadian swine producers as the date approaches for an expected preliminary determination on a US antidumping investigation.
The US Department of Commerce is expected to announce its preliminary determination on whether Canadian live hogs are being dumped into the US October 15th.
If it finds Canadian hogs are being sold into the US at below the cost of production, preliminary duties could take effect about October 20th.
George Morris Centre Senior Market Analyst Kevin Grier says, despite a preliminary ruling that cleared the Canadian industry of allegations that it receives illegal subsidies, the US based producer organization that launched the action continues to distort the facts.
"The US Commerce Department found that basically the Canadian industry was not being subsidized by the government and that's good.
The bad news though is that the National Pork Producers Council appears to be unwilling to accept that.
Despite the rulings of their commerce department they say that Canadians were subsidized by more than 100 million over the last four years.
That looks like a big number but, when you get some perspective on that, the industry at the market hog level alone is worth about three to four billion dollars per year and over four years those dollars work out to about nearly 14 billion.
It's a fraction of a percent that we're dealing with here so to say that Canadian hogs are injuring the industry, especially at a time with record high pricing, certainly lacks any form of credibility as far as I'm concerned."
The US International Trade Commission is scheduled to release its final injury determination in February.
If it finds the US industry is not being injured by the Canadian imports any preliminary antidumping duties will be eliminated but, if it determines there is injury, the duties will become permanent.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.