Don’t have a cow

Dairy farmers on the Island and across Canada feel as if they were thrown under the bus when the country signed on to a new free-trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico.

But hard as it might be on the farmers, the deal is important for Canada’s prosperity. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s irrational obsession over the tiny fraction of trade represented by dairy, few people could be surprised that this was where Canada would yield.

That’s what happened when the agreement was finally hammered out at the last minute on the weekend. Americans will get access to 3.5 per cent of the $16-billion Canadian dairy market.

Leaders on both sides boasted of achieving victory for their nations, which seems odd when discussing a deal that is supposed to bolster co-operation and facilitate trade. It’s like a new husband or wife proclaiming victory during the wedding ceremony.

For all the pain that farmers will feel (and the agreement permits the federal government to compensate farmers hurt by the deal), Canadians can be satisfied that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland stood firm on such crucial terms as the Chapter 19 dispute-resolution provisions. That process has been important, for instance, in defending B.C.’s lumber producers.

And they were able to get terms that avoid crushing tariffs on the auto sector, which would have rippled across the whole economy.

Once Trump went on the warpath, some pain was unavoidable. Although many details still have to be examined, it appears that Canada’s negotiators managed to keep the pain to a minimum.

— (Victoria) Times-Colonist