How damaged was agri-food trade between Canada and the U.S. under the presidency of Donald Trump, and what, if anything, will change now that Joe Biden is the American president?

A special edition of the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics (CJAE) examines those questions and more.

CJAE managing editor Dr. Alan Ker, a professor in U of G’s Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics and OAC Research Chair in Agricultural Risk and Policy, said Trump’s norm-breaking presidency impacted Canada’s agri-food trade, but it remains to be seen how long those impacts will last.

“Over the last four years, the Trump administration created some rocky relationships in the agricultural trade between Canada and the U.S. And because the U.S. is such a big player on the world market, its political actions affected world markets, which then affected Canada indirectly as well. We wondered what might change under the Biden presidency,” Ker said.

Several trade economists from Canada and the U.S. were asked to contribute four articles that appear in the March issue.

“They were asked to examine what a Biden presidency will mean for the U.S.’s trading relationships and then what would that mean for Canada’s agri-food trade as well as our trade on the world markets,” said Ker.

The articles examine issues in cross-border agricultural trade, including American domestic support, participation in trade agreements and how U.S.‐China relations might affect trade with Canada.

Writers examine Biden’s international trade agenda, U.S. farm support and the role of international politics on U.S.-Canada agri‐food trade.

“The authors expect that the U.S. will re-establish more collegial relationships with its trading partners, and differences that arise will be handled in a much different manner than they were in the last four years,” said Ker.

Authors agree that it’s unlikely the Canada-United States-Mexico Trade Agreement will be re-opened, allowing for more certainty in cross-border agri-food trade.

“So overall, there’s a feeling that improved trading relationships and increased certainty will allow a better flow of goods and services between Canada and U.S. and thus between Canada and its other trading partners,” he said.

The articles are currently open access:

• President Biden’s international trade agenda: Implications for the Canadian agri-food sector
• Role of international politics on agri‐food trade: Evidence from U.S.-Canada bilateral relations
• U.S. farm support under a Biden administration: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose?
• A new president in the White House: implications for Canadian agricultural trade
• The “Trump to Biden” articles were funded in part by U of G’s Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agricultural Policy.