Tenth Meeting of the Tri-National Agricultural Accord
JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ
July 28, 2000
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Senior agricultural officials from 11 Mexican states, 24 U.S. states, and 6 Canadian provinces met in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from July 27 - 29, 2000. This was the tenth in a series of rotating annual conferences intended to improve understanding and strengthen collaboration among the agricultural sectors of three neighboring countries. The meeting included an intensive focus on biotechnology issues. Delegates took advantage of the opportunity to study Saskatchewan's advanced public-private sector partnership in agricultural science.

The Mexican Delegation was headed by Hon. Clemente Mora Padilla, Secretary of Agricultural Development of the State of San Luis Potosi and President of the Mexican Association of Secretaries of Rural Development. The U.S. Delegation was led by Hon. Fred L. Dailey, Director of Agriculture for the State of Ohio and President of the U.S. National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Hon. Clay Serby, Minister of Agriculture and Food for the Province of Saskatchewan, headed the Canadian delegation and served as host for this year's conference.

At the meeting, delegates reviewed accomplishments of the bilateral working groups established under a new Accord structure adopted in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1999 and agreed to continue utilizing bilateral working groups as the principal means of assuring substantive progress takes place on matters raised during annual meetings.

The delegations recognized biotechnology as an important tool to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the agri-food industry. Delegates also recognized that consumers need greater access to balanced information on biotechnology and related issues. To continue work in this important area, Mexico is prepared to host a high level, trilateral forum on biotechnology in January or February, 2001. Delegates also agreed on the importance of discussing the various certification approaches, considering various settings in which this topic might be pursued.

U.S. and Mexican state leaders recognized the importance of including industry and producer interests in bilateral discussions of trade issues, and agreed on specific plans for interchanges regarding bean quota administration, specialty crops, organics, and other matters. Information exchanges regarding meat anti-dumping procedures, the efforts of the national associations of state leaders to influence national agricultural policy, and legal restrictions to cooperation on marketing issues among producers of the same crop in the U.S. and Mexico will take place in the near future. Arizona has offered to host a border meeting focusing on the issue of where physical inspections take place for a number of agricultural products. The U.S./Mexico working group will monitor progress of the electronic inspection document pilot project and the grain quality monitoring project which have resulted from last year's working group meetings. Both delegations will cooperate in publicizing the alternate crop exposition scheduled to take place in Veracruz Oct. 6 - 8, 2000. The

Canadian and U.S. delegates agreed to continue regional cross border exchanges with a second Montana/Alberta Opportunities Conference, a second Northern Plains Producer Conference, and to continue working on plans for a border cattle trade meeting in Vermont, a Northeast/Eastern Canada farm leadership meeting, further meetings of state and provincial agricultural officials, a meeting to exchange information on state and provincial food safety program initiatives, and a northern plains meeting on financing new generation cooperatives. Information will be exchanged concerning measurement of domestic support. States will work with their nursery and landscape industries with Canadian assistance to further investigate nursery certification for export trade. North Dakota and Saskatchewan will further examine suggestions for cooperation in durum wheat marketing. Canadian and U.S. delegates agreed on the importance of harmonization in the area of agricultural chemicals and livestock drugs, including expanding joint registration and pursuing joint labeling of those products available in both countries to permit producers to purchase these products from the neighboring country. Delegates also agreed to continue working towards animal health regulation harmonization.

The Mexican and Canadian delegations agreed to solidify their bilateral exchange by setting up a network of staff contacts and other mechanisms to assure prompt communication and exchange of proposals for commercial collaboration and information of mutual interest. The U.S./Canadian Working Group, which also functions as the Provinces-States Advisory Group (P-SAG) to their federal governments' Consultative Committee on Agriculture (CCA), met with the chairpersons of the CCA to discuss issues carried forward from the March 2 P-SAG meeting. Delegates reiterated the states and provinces interest in federal input on the issues of seed laboratory certification and regional animal health issues. Other areas of concern, including phytosanitary issues with regard to nursery product trade, will be communicated to the CCA in the near future.

At the close of the Saskatoon meeting, the Mexican delegation extended an invitation to their U.S. and Canadian colleagues to come to Manzanillo, Colima, for the Eleventh Meeting of the States/Provinces Agricultural Accord in July, 2001.