ND Department of Agriculture Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 15, 2008

JOHNSON TO CONFER WITH U.S., CANADIAN AND MEXICAN AG OFFICIALS

BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson will discuss agricultural and trade regulations and policies with U.S., Canadian and Mexican agriculture officials at a meeting of the Tri-National Working Group on Harmonization, Wednesday through Friday, in Sacramento, CA.

“My principal concern is pesticide harmonization,” said Johnson. “Recent studies show North Dakota farmers have paid from $20 million to $40 million more annually for the same pesticides used by farmers in Canada. Furthermore, a 2005 study from North Dakota State University indicated that U.S. growers would save $178 million annually if they could access lower-priced pesticides from Canada. At the same time, many pesticides are being sold for less money in the U.S. than in Canada, and that is leading Canadians to seek the end of crossborder disparate pricing.”

Johnson said the situation exists because most pesticide companies label pesticide products with country-specific labeling, thereby artificially segmenting North American markets and preventing the free crossborder movement of those products without company consent.

“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) have expended considerable effort to eliminate the regulatory barriers to NAFTA pesticide labeling.  Four NAFTA labels have been approved by EPA and PMRA to date, proving that NAFTA labeling is possible. However, we need to have wider adoption and use of NAFTA labeling on the part of pesticide registrants, particularly for those pesticide products that have the largest price disparities between the two countries.  I believe companies should be required to use NAFTA labels in those cases where identical chemical products are sold in both countries by the same company,” he said.

Other issues to be discussed include animal health and phytosanitary regulations and trade concerns.

The meeting establishes priorities for the upcoming meeting of the 19th annual Tri-National Agricultural Accord, Aug. 13-15, in Coeur d’Alene, ID.

Speakers at the working group meeting will include representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal-Plant Health Inspection Service, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Tri-National Accord began with a U.S.-Canada exchange in 1984. Mexico was invited to participate in the accord, when efforts to create a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) got underway in the early 1990s. The first accord meeting was in Mexico in 1992. Since then, the annual meeting has rotated among the three countries.

"The accord is a longstanding commitment among the senior state and provincial agricultural officials to work together on issues and concerns that mutually affect our three counties,” Johnson said. “It is an opportunity to better understand the problems each country faces and provides a forum for us to iron out our differences.”

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MEDIA: For more information, please call Ted Quanrud at (701) 328-2233 or tquanrud@nd.gov or Patrice Lahlum at (701) 239-7210 or plahlum@nd.gov.