Deteriorating food security status is primarily a local phenomenon resulting from failures in food systems and inadequate incomes. Technological advances in agriculture have led to declining long-term trends in food prices, which have assisted in improving diets. It is projected that in the...

The FSMA appears to be a major undertaking with a very large responsibility placed on the FDA. It would seem that bottlenecks to exporting are bound to appear which will be very frustrating for Canadian firms. It is important for Canadian firms and Canadian policy makers to work hard to ensure...

Trade in genetically modified (GM) products remains a major issue in agricultural trade policy. In particular, the European Union has sought to deny market access to GM-products. In the wake of a WTO case brought by Canada and the US, among others, against an import ban imposed on genetically...

The regulatory regime for contamination permits the imposition of import bans with neither a scientific justification nor a risk assessment. No scientific assessment of Triffid flax was done prior to the import ban. The import regime put in place to deal with the contamination of flax with the...

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which was signed into law in January, 2011 represents a major initiative to improve food safety in the US. The legislation mandates the US Food and Drug Administration with developing a regulatory system to implement the Act. As yet, the full effect of...

Canada and Mexico are formally challenging US country of origin (COOL) legislation at the World Trade Organization. The industries most affected by COOL are beef and pork. The effect of COOL on North American cross border supply chains is outlined. The areas of international trade law upon which...

Most observers agree that the major areas where gains can be made in CETA are in the services sector and selected areas of manufacturing. It seems unlikely that CETA will be as all encompassing as the NAFTA with only a few agricultural products excluded from full tariff elimination. Still, it...