CALGARY — Mark Carney's comments on "a New World Order" could have been "more than rhetorical flourish."This is according to the Food Professor, or Sylvain Charlebois, who runs an agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University, and who says on his Subtstack, the feds are anticipating CUSMA is a "dying deal."Instead, Charlebois says, the feds made a pragmatic decision by making a deal with China — to save the Canadian agriculture market, which includes tens of thousands of jobs.This is because Canada cannot afford to let a stand-off with China continue any longer — one that's existed since 2018..The deal Canada has now made with China is the following: China has cut tariffs on Canadian rapeseed oil to 15%, and has suspended duties on canola, lobster, and other products.Canada has agreed to import 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a 6% tariff.All these trade changes will come into effect on March 1.However, Charlebois points out, Canada's food tariffs with the US are very limited.."With or without CUSMA, agricultural trade will continue, driven by geography, integration, and necessity," Charlebois stated."The real vulnerability lies elsewhere: Canada’s overreliance on a single trade partner in a world where predictability is fading."Charlebois calls the deal not "diplomacy" but "risk management."This is because "food security, unlike EV strategy, cannot be deferred.".Canadian farmers are the ones who suffer from the uncertainty of geopolitical tensions and they can't afford to, says Charlebois. "Markets matter, and access matters more."Despite China being a communist state, Charlebois stated, "For Canada’s agri-food sector, this was not about choosing China over the U.S.""It was about choosing reality over ideology.".Even if the deal with China doesn't placate the US whatsoever, Charlebois says, "The United States will continue to sideline Canada when it suits its interests, and CUSMA’s future remains uncertain.""But based on what unfolded in Beijing this week, Ottawa anticipated that response — and acted anyway."
