After five years of negotiations and a final week of marathon meetings, 12 Pacific Rim countries including Canada and the U.S. have reached an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The TPP is a massive, multi-lateral trade deal that, in part, will reduce or eliminate tariffs on Canadian commodities. For example, over the next five years, tariffs of Canadian canola in Japan and Vietnam will be eliminated, and tariffs of Canadian beef in Japan of over 38 per cent will be reduced to 9 per cent in 15 years.

While Canadian dairy was an issue during negotiations, Canada's supply management chains remain protected in the final agreement. However, Canada has opened up 3.25 per cent of its dairy market to foreign suppliers. Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, says on the surface, this figure seems to be a good deal, but there still needs to be more analysis.

"I think we really have to take a look at what that figure will mean when we get into the details of the agreement and determine how much that's going to affect the production capacity in Canada," he says.

The TPP will also slightly open up other supply-managed sectors to other Asia-Pacific countries, such as 2.3 per cent market access for eggs, 2.1 per cent for chicken, and 2 per cent for turkey.

"I think one of the things we have to recognize is there is some trade that already takes place in chicken, eggs, and turkey," he says, "so how it (the added market access) fits with the existing amount of trade that already takes place would be interesting to see."

The Government of Canada also announced Monday a series of new programs and initiatives to help support supply-managed producers throughout the implementation of the TPP as well as the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA).

The income guarantee program will be implemented to provide 100 per cent income protection to producers for a full 10 years from the day TPP comes into force. Income support assistance will continue on a tapered basis for an additional five years, for a total of 15 years. $2.4 billion is available for this program.

The quota value guarantee program will also be implemented to protect producers against reduction in quota value when the quota is sold following the implementation of TTP and CETA. $1.5 billion has been set aside for this demand-driven program, which will be in place for 10 years.

The government also announced two additional programs: the $450 million-Processor Modernization Program, which will provide processors in the supply-managed value chain with support to further advance their competitiveness and growth, and the Market Development Initiative, which will assist supply-managed groups in promoting and marketing their top-quality products. To support the latter initiative, $15 million in new funding will be added to the AgriMarketing Program.

The Canadian Dairy Commission and the Farm Products Council of Canada will work with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to ensure the Income Guarantee and Quota Value Guarantee programs are delivered to producers in an effective and efficient manner. The government will continue to work closely with dairy, poultry, and egg producers and the entire supply-managed sector to implement these initiatives.

Bonnett says, again, with such initiatives, it seems good on the surface, but it's premature to say whether or not it will work for dairy farmers.

"I think one of the things, though, in this whole discussion about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is the fact that Canada could not be put outside the Trans-Pacific Partnership," he says. "We have a number of markets in TPP countries that are key to us, particularly Japan, and to be put at a disadvantage would really hurt our export producers. So I think trying to get that balance between protecting supply management and the key pillars of supply management and making sure that we have on-going access for export commodities, I think, was critical."

Other groups, such as the National Farmers Union (NFU) disagree. In a press release, the NFU denounced the TPP, saying it would "provide illusionary market gains" and severely damage Canada's supply-managed sectors. NFU says it will set the stage for a "10-year phase out of Canadian dairy."

A full text of all the details within the TPP agreement has not yet been released.