An array of agrifood organizations is urging the federal government to take a leadership role in pushing for a free trade deal with 10 other Pacific Rim countries during a meeting in Vietnam later this month.TPP-11, as the Trans Pacific Pact is known with the United States no longer involved, will be on the agenda of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam that includes all the TPP countries.“We urge the government to take a leadership role in the TPP-11 negotiations with the intention of completing a deal in the very near term” said Rick Bergmann, Chairman of the Canadian Pork Council. It should include “the negotiated outcomes on market access that were agreed to in the original TPP. Canada has the capacity and ability to complete this deal so that Canadians can take full advantage of this opportunity while other countries continue to negotiate.“However, the status quo is not an option,” he said. “If a free trade agreement with Asia-Pacific nations is not implemented, Canada will face ongoing erosion of its ability to compete in Japan and other rapidly growing Asian markets.”That position reflects the ambition of many other groups including the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Grain Growers of Canada, the Cattlemen's Association, the Agri-Food Trade Alliance, Canola Growers Association and the Meat Council.CFA President Ron Bonnet said in an interview, “The TPP provides quite an opportunity for our sector. We support moving ahead with a caution for the potential impact on supply management, which could also be affected by a new NAFTA agreement.”The CCA said the prospects for a successful conclusion to the TPP talks have improved with the re-election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan, a big TPP supporter. “There is immense potential for Canadian beef under an Asia-Pacific regional trade agreement provided it incorporates important market access and food safety provisions agreed to in the TPP to remove significant trade barriers. “These include prohibitive tariffs in Japan that prevent us from tapping into the full potential of that market and thus leaves Canada at a competitive disadvantage to countries with existing trade agreements,” it said. “Absent this or a bilateral agreement with Japan, Canada will likely lose around 80 per cent of the value of our beef exports to Japan. Conversely, an Asia-Pacific regional trade agreement incorporating the market access provisions of the TPP could enable the Canadian beef industry to double or nearly triple exports to Japan to about $300 million.”Trade Alliance President Brian Innes noted the Commons international trade committee called on the government to push a TPP agreement “as well as additional trade and investment agreements in the Asia-Pacific region.“This is why the government and our negotiators need to continue to press for a multilateral deal, in spite of the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement,” he said.” It is paramount that the negotiated outcomes and market access provisions of the original TPP be ratified and implemented quickly with the remaining parties in a TPP-11 country agreement. We would also wish the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) provisions of the TPP to be wholly incorporated into a TPP-11.”Canada needs to show “it's serious about going forward with a robust, rules-based trading system that eliminates both tariff and non-tariff barriers.”The Vietnam meeting “is a platform for Canada to advance these very important discussions,” said Rick White, CEO of Canola Growers. “Realizing the tariff reductions that have already been agreed to would spur the sale of more value-added canola products to TPP nations, shifting exports from mostly seed to more oil and meal,” says White. It is estimated that exports of Canadian canola oil and meal could increase by up to $780 million per year once tariffs in Japan and Vietnam are fully eliminated. Processing more canola in Canada means economic growth for the domestic economy, more jobs for Canadians, and growth opportunities for farmers, their families and their rural communities.“Equally important to new market opportunities is maintaining our current markets,” says White. “The tariff rate structure established under a bilateral trade agreement between Japan and Australia leaves Canadian valued-added canola products disadvantaged.”The Meat Council wants the “earliest possible completion, ratification and implementation” of the TPP. It said that failure to do so “would result in a devastating blow to the Canadian meat Industry, which represents a significant segment of Canada's economy and jobs.”The Council is particularly concerned with Canada's exports to Japan. “Under TPP-11, Canadian meat exports to Japan are projected to increase by $500 million. Without the speedy implementation of the TPP, Canada risks losing a critical competitive advantage to other large exporters such as the European Union.“The Canadian meat industry amid these current negotiations, is reminded of the costly decline it experienced as a result of stalled Canadian negotiations with South Korea. The CMC said “not only did Canadian meat exports collapse by 56 percent after competitors gained preferential access to the Korean market, the Canadian market access disadvantage will endure during the remaining years of the fifteen-year implementation period of the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.