Who Said What on Supply Management Bill C-282
Rally on Parliament Hill, September
10, 2024, in support of Bill C-282
Much has been written and said in the monopoly media and by various government officials concerning Bill C-282 and Canada and Quebec's supply management system. TML Monthly examines below some of this material with editorial comments in double parentheses.
U.S. Chief Trade Representative Katherine Tai has said that dairy will be a point of discussion during the 2026 review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA). "I would argue that we may not have a NAFTA or USCMA ((the U.S. moniker for CUSMA)) if this [Bill C-282] had been in place in 2017. I would have fully expected our dairy and our poultry industries to be up in arms opposing USMCA negotiations," she said.
U.S.-based trade consultant Eric Miller, president of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group said that if Bill C-282 becomes law it would be a "real problem" for Canada during the review of CUSMA. "We know that one of the No. 1 priorities [for the U.S.] will be dairy," he said. "With an oversupply of milk in the U.S., Canada is one of the very few countries to which it can be exported without spoiling. If Canada enacts this [law], it will be in a situation where the U.S. will see it as a retaliatable measure. The U.S. would very well see it within its right -- especially under a Trump administration -- to say, 'If you don't want to give access on dairy then how about we take access away on other sectors.' It's inviting retaliation."
((The comment is indicative of the arrogance of U.S. imperialists. Having destroyed their own small and medium-sized farmers, they contend they have a problem with "oversupply of milk" and want to correct their problem on the backs of other countries. Their contention of "oversupply of milk" is tied to the imperialist system where food is a commodity for sale. If those in need of milk or other commodities do not have the resources and means to buy the commodity then an "oversupply" is declared as the problem.
Given widespread food insecurity in the U.S. especially among children, the contention of an "oversupply of milk" is tied to the aim of the monopoly farm producers and investors for maximum profit and the anarchy of the imperialist economic system, and not to meeting the needs of the people and the building of a pro-social economy.))
Eric Miller also said the U.S. would likely withdraw Canadian access to other U.S. sectors in retaliation, given the American approach to trade negotiations. "All the early indications are that dairy is pretty much at the top of the list of demands," he said. "If you take this area off the table, you are inviting the U.S. to take punitive action to put it back on the table."
(("Punitive action!" How can any nation have civil relations with a bully that takes "punitive actions" when it does not get its way?))
Miller contends that if Canada adopts Bill C-282 as law, it will contribute to the growing sense in Washington, DC, that Ottawa is no longer the U.S.'s closest ally.
((Canada already asks, "How high?" when the U.S. says "Jump!" Its policies are already in lockstep with those of the U.S. Taking his cue from this, Miller is repeating that only those countries that are bootlickers will not be attacked through tariffs, sanctions, blockades and even war. And that bootlickers had better capitulate. Meanwhile it goes without saying that those which capitulate are under merciless attack as a matter of course in any case.))
Miller said there is an increasing sense that Canada is not pulling its weight. "You've got dairy, you've got DST ((Digital Services Tax affecting the big U.S. social media cartels)), you've got defence spending, you've got a series of other irritants; the sense is that Canada is no longer the U.S.'s best friend," he said. "In Washington, if you ask U.S. officials in the Pentagon or even sometimes in the State Department, 'Who is the U.S.'s best friend?' The No. 1 answer you'll find these days is Australia."
"The sense is that Canada has a lot of demands and concerns about things, but it's not bringing solutions to the extent that the U.S. would like to see," he said. "The broader frustration is pretty sure to play into the [CUSMA review] process."
((As can be seen, the assault and alarmist talk also ties Bill C-282 to Canada's defence spending on NATO, which the U.S. demands must be more than two per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Much of the spending is earmarked for purchases of U.S. military equipment and its endless wars and proxy wars abroad.
A relation that requires being the "U.S.'s best friend" means that the other nation is not independent and cannot build its economy according to its specific conditions and needs. The Canadian Digital Services Tax affects the big U.S.-controlled social media cartels by restricting their expropriation and removal of social value from Canada while their domination of the Canadian market remains intact. Digital services and the gig-employment sectors have become enormous with ties to almost every aspect of the economy, draining them of social value and intensifying the exploitation of the working class.))
In lockstep with U.S. oligopoly-speak, former Canadian trade negotiator John Weekes said, "A statutory declaration of this nature would provoke a public reaction from the Americans...." If Bill C-282 becomes law, it likely would lead to a "public slogging match."
((The reason that "a statutory declaration of this nature" is needed is because the U.S.-led cartels are determined to take over all sectors of the Canadian and Quebec economies to serve their war aims and maximum profit for their investors. Doing so clashes everywhere with the specific conditions and needs of the targeted peoples and their economic sectors.))
Senator Peter Harder (Ontario), vice-chair of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee, said to be "progressive," told the Senate, "This bill is like handing the United States a hand grenade, and passing it would be akin to pulling the pin."
The U.S. connects trade relations with its war aims, such as demanding Canada increase support for NATO. In a recent op-ed in Newsweek, U.S. Congressman Mike Turner, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, took aim at the pace at which Canada has committed to reaching NATO's two per cent spending target. "Amazingly, Trudeau recently announced Canada will reach the Wales Pledge of two per cent by 2032," he wrote. "Take your time Canada; Russia can wait."
Turner, speaking prior to the U.S. presidential election, questioned those who characterized Trump as being a threat to the military alliance and global security in the face of Canada's contribution.
"The threat to the stability and security of NATO is not what may happen in Washington this November. It's what's happening in Ottawa today," he wrote.
(With files from media, hilltimes.com. Photo: M. Caron)
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 11 - November 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540117.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca