COTA is actively monitoring pending trade tariffs from the U.S. (delayed implementation date of March 4), surveying members on the implications to their business operations, advocating for supports and working on your behalf. We are participating in government roundtables, regular stakeholder calls with AAFC and the Department of Finance, and having more focused discussions with government staff as needed. We continue to engage with U.S. counterparts and had further discussions with trading partners at the Biofach Congress in Germany last week.
With the presidential order applying tariffs to “all articles” and uncertainty if a resolution will be found, it is important for members to stay informed and prepare.
We encourage all members to provide your thoughts in our survey as we look to you for guidance on what measures you feel the government of Canada should implement on reciprocal tariffs. Please keep us informed of measures your business is taking to mitigate potential tariffs and what assistance COTA can provide. Reach out to My-Lien Bosch (mbosch@canada-organic.ca) or Tia Loftsgard (tloftsgard@canada-organic.ca) with any questions or concerns as we work through this challenge together.
Agricultural Roundtable with Minister of Agriculture
On February 7, COTA’s executive director Tia Loftsgard, participated in an Agriculture Canada Industry Roundtable with Minister Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture, with key trade representatives present from both AAFC and CFIA. This was part of a series of meetings to understand the implications and needs of the agriculture and agri-food sector in the face of tariffs.
COTA was able to share the impacts on the organic sector and our members with the Government of Canada. We, along with several stakeholders, recommended addressing interprovincial trade barriers to build more domestic opportunities, increasing AgriMarketing assistance to find alternative markets, and providing financial support for producers and companies facing income loss due to tariffs (COVID-era CERB-like support, remission process, AgriStability, etc…).
COTA highlighted that organic exports are already premium products that will be particularly hard hit if additional 25% tariffs are applied, rendering many products uncompetitive. The loss of the U.S. market would be disastrous to our sector as it is the #1 organic market in the world and there is no possibility of diverting the volume currently exported to the U.S. to another market easily or quickly. There is an additional risk of producers leaving organic certification if market demand declines for organic due to the tariffs. With its unique three-year transition required for certification of organic production, any exit from organic production could create longer-term challenges as it would take a substantial amount of time to bring producers back when the market stabilizes.
Tariff talk at Biofach
COTA spoke with our counterparts at The Organic Trade Association (OTA) in the U.S., staff at the National Organic Program and other international trade partners at the Biofach Congress in Nuremberg, Germany last week.
The OTA continues to strongly advocate with Congress for avoiding and ending any tariffs on agriculturally based products, as they are a detriment to farmers, businesses and consumers. The sentiment raised in a “Post-Election USA update” session by the OTA was that the Trump administration is entirely focused on balancing trade imbalances. It was noted that tariffs were a common practice before the Bretton Woods Agreement was signed post-WWII and trade partners should likely brace for this new reality. The OTA also highlighted that currently the US Farm Bill is over 500 days delayed in being approved and has only been extended twice now to September 30, 2025. US stakeholders are nervous about these delays as many of the organic programs are granted through the appropriations process. Currently the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) program will continue despite the stop work order but other programs such as the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP) has been defunded in December 2024. Congress passed a spending package to extend the U.S. Farm Bill through September 30, 2025; however, this extension did not include funding for several key organic programs, including the OCCSP.
Organic products on Canada’s reciprocal tariffs list (Feb 2, 2025)
COTA is trying to gain clarity on which products imported from the U.S. would be subject to reciprocal tariffs from Canada. The initial list released by the Government of Canada of U.S. products that would face counter-tariffs did not specifically list any of the 65 organic HS codes that are tracked imports. However, this does not mean that organic products will be excluded. When no specific organic HS code exists, the conventional HS code is used with an OGD (Other Government Department) extension code for imports from the U.S. to Canada. Our analysis comparing the list of organic HS codes to the tariff list reveals that the following list of imported products from the U.S. may be exempt (to be confirmed): coffee, herbal, green and black tea, tomatoes, peppers, tomato sauce, raspberries, oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, pomelos, yogurt, peaches, milk beverages.