Canada pork production subsidization schemes concern Trans-Pacific Partnership members

Canada’s open agricultural subsidization schemes surrounding pork production have Trans-Pacific Partnership member countries (the U.S., New Zealand and Australia) expressing concerns after Canada was recently admitted into the partnership at the G20 summit.
Canada’s federal and provincial governments bestow countervailable subsidies on the Canadian pig industry that cause significant distortions to overseas markets such as Australia, the U.S. and New Zealand, according to Australian Pork Limited CEO Andrew Spencer. "Domestic subsidy programs are generally not within the scope of free trade agreements," said Spencer. "However, in this case Canadian agricultural subsidies are so wide ranging and have such a broad and far-reaching impact on overseas markets it is on these grounds we, along with the U.S. and New Zealand, urge the [Trans-Pacific Partnership] negotiators and governments to deal with these issues fairly as part of the process.”
Australian, New Zealand and U.S. pork producers have said that the Canadian government’s actions are counterproductive to the overarching philosophy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership's goals and ambitions. "Subsidy programs are antithetical to free trade and to the spirit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations that Canada is entering,” said R.C. Hunt, president of the U.S. National Pork Producers Council.

China imposes anti-subsidy levy on US chicken

China imposed an anti-subsidy ranging from 4% to 30.3% on chicken meat products imported from USA, as of August 30, 2010, according to the recent announcement made by Ministry of Commerce of China. It exceeds the previous levy range of 3.8% to 31.4% set preliminarily last April.
According to Ministry of Commerce of China, Tyson and Pilgrim’s, two US poultry processing giants, must pay duties of 5.1% and 12.5%, respectively, on their chicken products imported into China. Dozens of other US poultry companies will have to deal with levies that can vary up to 30.3%, added the Chinese organ. The new measure against the US poultry products, along with the recently imposed anti-dumping levy, will be valid for the next five years.

Federal subsidies to grain farmers may be cut

Federal subsidies to producers of corn, soybeans and other crops may be cut, according to a report.
“We are not going to have any new money; we’ll probably have less money,” said Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
His remarks were delivered during a hearing in Washington D.C. to gather opinions from farmers on U.S. agriculture policy.
In 2009, the USDA expended $15.4 billion on all support programs including food stamps and farm subsidies. Growing budget deficits make subsidies appear unpopular from a political standpoint and coupled with complaints from trading partners over subsidies, reductions are inevitable. Congress is aiming to approve the next Farm Bill before September 2012.
If subsidies are selectively reduced, farms will naturally select crops which offer the optimum return commensurate with expenditure and risks. This may impact availability of ingredients and may alter the price structure of livestock production.