The trade deal will be a boon for food exporters.Ottawa—Now that the United States has ended contentious tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, Canada needs to make getting the new North American free trade deal ratified by Parliament a priority, say agrifood groups.Brian Innes, President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), said the subsequent removal of retaliatory Canadian tariffs on a wide variety of American imports is positive for free trade in North America.“Duty-free trade is a win-win across leading sectors of the economy, including manufacturing and of course agriculture and agri-food,” he said. “Canada's agrifood exports to the U.S. have grown by more than fivefold and imports from the U.S. have grown more than six fold since 1988. Tariff-free trade has been an incredible success for the agrifood sector throughout North America.“We are hopeful this agreement paves the way for the ratification of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) which will create even greater opportunities across the North American market,” he said.Parliament resumes sitting May 27 with four weeks left before it is supposed to prorogue for the October election. A bill to ratify the CUSMA has yet to be presented to Parliament and would have to be passed by the Commons and Senate before prorogation to become law. Both chambers already have a hefty load of legislation to deal with during that time. There is speculation that the U.S. Congress is unlikely to pass legislation ratifying CUSMA any time soon.Chairman Jim Wickett of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers, said the removal of the steel and aluminum tariffs is positive news because they “only had the potential to drive up the costs of agriculture equipment and standing in the way of the approval of the CUSMA.”In addition to being passed into law, the trade deal will require regulatory changes to ensure that the 2019 harvest is dealt with on a level playing field, he said. It is anticipated that CUSMA will lead to greater simplification of The Grain Act, fewer barriers to trade as well as more open and free markets.The Wheat Growers has been calling for years for wheat varieties on either side of the border to be recognized in the other country, he said.With the tight Parliamentary time frame, the government needs to move expeditiously to gain its passage, which should be supported by the opposition, he said. So far, the opposition parties have been critical of provisions in the trade deal.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.