The U.S. Grains Council is delighted to announce that the Honorable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will keynote the Council’s 53rd Annual Board of Delegates Meeting in Ottawa, Canada, later this month.

“We are honored to have Minister Ritz speak to the Council’s delegation,” said USGC Chairman Don Fast. “The U.S.-Canada partnership is unique in the world. We share the world’s longest undefended border, and Canada is our largest and closest trading partner. In many sectors, Canada is a tough competitor as well. And we are both agricultural exporters, facing many of the same barriers to access in markets around the world. We look forward to hearing Minister Ritz’s perspective on these issues.”

Both the United States and Canada are committed to trade expansion, and in June 2012, the Council welcomed the announcement of Canada’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The existing U.S.-Canada free trade agreement makes trade relations doubly important for both nations. While Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has set a goal of diversifying Canada’s trade, the U.S.-Canada bilateral trade relationship remains a high priority as it creates new sources of prosperity and jobs on both sides of the border.

Click here to learn more or to register for the Council’s annual meeting.