CCA’s approach to tariffs and market access

The start of my term as president is during an odd combination of events. In Canada, a federal election campaign just wrapped up. While this would traditionally be a quieter time for CCA, my calendar quickly filled up with invitations to attend meetings in Washington, D.C. and with key stakeholders in Canada as we continue to try and navigate the uncertainty and confusion about tariffs imposed by the United States.

Canada’s beef industry is heavily reliant on exports, which makes it crucial for CCA to dedicate attention to maintaining market access. That is not an easy task, but there are a couple of silver linings for us. First, we as beef producers are not in this situation alone. The entire world is affected and nearly all Canadian industries and businesses are impacted. Second, we have the National Beef Strategy, developed by the National Beef Advisors, to guide our response. The Strategy helps ensure consistent messaging among the entire Canadian beef industry.

There are some in the industry who urge us to pursue other markets that have potential for increased exports. Canada Beef is working hard on this task to ensure that we are prepared for all possible outcomes. Even amid this tariff uncertainty, the United States is an economic powerhouse that not only takes a large percentage of Canadian beef products, their consumers are willing to pay high prices for beef. I believe that the North American cattle market is complementary. We are more efficient together from a global perspective. CCA is committed to continued advocacy on behalf of an integrated North American cattle market, and we hope that it will prevail. When CCA attends meetings in the USA, we take a message supporting the integrated cattle and beef market. Increased market access around the world can only lead to increased demand for beef, requiring more cattle production and more opportunities for producers.

Listen to Tyler on The Bovine podcast: “Tyler Fulton on CCA priorities and leadership“

There is no question that tariffs are the main area of focus but they are by no means the only topic that CCA is working on. Of increased importance following the recent CCA AGM is a renewed focus on animal disease preparedness. It cannot be stressed enough that traceability and biosecurity must be a priority for beef producers, not just in Canada, but around the world. The ongoing situation with Foot and Mouth Disease in Eastern Europe is of huge concern. Here in Canada, we need a traceability system that works for industry and accounts for our reliance on trade. Canada already has a world-leading traceability system that we can be proud of. Our industry takes pride in our commitment to continuous improvement, and it is through that commitment and ongoing consultations between producers and industry that we are nearing the end of the process to improve our livestock traceability system. CCA has been involved throughout the process, and we look forward to improvements and simplifications.

Biosecurity is another topic that needs far more attention than it receives. As an industry we have some improvements to make, and we simply must be better prepared. Beef Cattle Research Council and Animal Health Canada recently launched a series of biosecurity resources focused on Foot and Mouth Disease, but these best practices are applicable for preventing all animal diseases. Visit Foot and Mouth Disease – BeefResearch.ca to learn more. Most of these resources are also available in French and some are also in Spanish.

To reach more producers, I have started recording some short video clips that are being shared on CCA’s Facebook, Twitter/X and LinkedIn accounts. There are so many different types of social media platforms, and we all receive so many emails and text messages every day that it can be very difficult to be heard when you have something to share and to find information that is important to you, especially if you’re not certain where you should be looking. I hope that these videos will help CCA’s posts stand out in your social media feeds.

Although our industry is facing a lot of challenges, I am feeling very optimistic about the future. It is important to maintain our focus on young producers. There are great incentives to get into the cattle business, but we need to provide tools for new and young producers to manage the risk that is required to invest in land and cattle. CCA will pursue these needs with the new federal government.

This article was first published in Volume 5 Issue 2 of ABP Magazine (May 2025). To access the full digital magazine or subscribe to the print edition, click here.