ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER SUSTAINABILITY 23 continued on page 24 The European Union’s approach to pesticide and biotechnology regulation has long differed from Canada’s, resulting in various nontariff trade barriers for Canadian farmers. Recent moves to reduce maximum residue limits of some pesticides already banned in the EU, but still available in Canada, could potentially result in Canadian farmers abandoning the use of such products altogether in an effort to maintain market access. At a time when Canada is looking to significantly expand trade with partners outside the United States, Canadian grain sector representatives argue the imposition of Europe’s “reciprocity approach” for certain pesticides poses a significant threat for farmers and grain exporters. HAZARD-FOCUSED REGULATION Canada, the United States, Australia, and many other countries take a risk-based scientific approach in the regulation of pesticides and biotechnology – that is, where the risk of a product causing harm is used in determining whether something should be available for use, and if so, how it should be used. By contrast, the EU takes a precautionary hazard-based approach, where the potential for harm by a given technology, rather than the likelihood such harm will occur, is what determines its permissibility. As detailed in a Canadian Grain Commission white paper released in January, this approach has resulted in a variety of non-tariff trade barriers limiting the export growth potential for many Canadian agricultural goods. The Grain Commission paper reads as follows: “Over the past ten years, the EU has removed about half of the crop protection tools available to its own farmers, often for political rather than scientific reasons. As a result, the EU is now under pressure to block food imports produced using farming tools that are no longer allowed in Europe, even when those products are proven safe. This so-called reciprocity approach, or mirror clause, could have major negative impacts on Canadian agriculture trade to the EU.” The EU is, at the time this article was written, proceeding with its reciprocity policy for imported agricultural goods, with policy implementation scheduled for spring 2026. Henceforth, the allowed maximum residue limits for specific banned chemicals allowed on imports – neonicotinoids in this initial case – will drop to 0.01 parts per million, or essentially zero. Shipments of agricultural products with any trace of these products could be deemed non-compliant, and face rejection. The Grains Council white paper details how the policy is set to unfold: “Neonic insecticides are the first innovation targeted, but the EU has clearly articulated there will be others via statements to not allow pesticides banned in the EU back into the EU through imported food products.” INTERNATIONALLY-ACCEPTED RESIDUE STANDARDS The move to drop allowable residue levels to near zero runs counter to current international agreements on maximum residue limit standards under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, says Mac Ross, vice-president of crop protection for the Canada Grains Council. While neonicotinoids are likely to be a greater issue for nongrain crops such as field vegetables, the precedent set by enacting such reciprocity policies could easily impact grain producers later. “The prevailing thought for a long time was, ‘the EU is going to EU.’ We’ve had problems with regulatory differences for a long time. Something we’re trying to convey to industry and government is why now?” says Ross. “Sure, there’s real opportunity in Europe, and Canada is strengthening ties with the EU…But when we talk about increasing trade with them, we need to realize there are some very real trade impediments around barriers to innovation.” Ross says the EU started embarking on hazard-based approach in 2009. “And that has resulted in EU farmers having no innovation pipeline left. Companies just don’t want to bring them to market. Now the thinking in Europe seems to be, ‘if we can’t use it, we don’t want anyone else to use it’. We’re heading into a space where a foreign regulatory regime will dictate what Canadians can and cannot do.” EUROPE: A CRITICAL MARKET EU member states and the United Kingdom are already top-tier buyers of Ontario grain, thanks in no small part to the shipping advantage afforded by the St. Lawrence Seaway. In total, Ross says the EU represents a $3 billion market opportunity for grain. According to Dana Dickerson, market development and sustainability director for Grain Farmers of Ontario, over a million tonnes of corn – fully 90 per cent of Ontario’s corn exports – make it to Europe each year. For soybeans, it’s 200,000 tonnes, although logistical complexities inherent in the inter-provincial movement of soybeans suggest the actual export tonnage is likely higher. “Even with wheat, which traditionally we haven’t exported a lot into the EU or the UK, we’ve started sending more to Spain through
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