WARTMAN TO ADDRESS NAFTA AT TEN CONFERENCE IN MINNEAPOLIS

Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Minister Mark Wartman will travel to Minneapolis to speak on how Saskatchewan views the effectiveness of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) model in facilitating agricultural trade and resolving disputes.

The NAFTA at Ten Conference on March 29th is being held to mark the 10th anniversary of the launching of NAFTA between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Wartman will be joined by Saskatchewan Party agricultural critic Lyle Stewart.

"Saskatchewan currently faces some major trade issues with the US, such as the BSE border closure and hog and wheat trade actions," Wartman said. "NAFTA at Ten offers us another means to express our concerns over these actions."

Wartman added that the conference provides an opportunity to strengthen Saskatchewan's relationship with the Minnesota state government and members of the Minnesota agribusiness community. At just under $1 billion, Minnesota is Saskatchewan's second largest export market.

NAFTA is the world's largest free trade area. Trade between Canada and the United States has nearly doubled in the last 10 years, with more than $1 billion in goods and services crossing the border each day. The vast majority of this trade occurs without problems.

The conference will begin with an overview of the trade agreement and will then move to a sector-by-sector review of trade highlights among the beef, pork and grain industries.

Hosts of the day long conference include the Agri-Growth Council, the Canadian Consulate General in Minneapolis, the Humphrey Institute's Orville and Jane Freeman Center for International Economic Policy, and the University of Minnesota College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences.

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For More Information, Contact:

Scott Brown Agriculture, Food and Rural Revitalization Regina Phone: (306) 787-4031