U.S. And Canada Sign Agreement On Organic Equivalency

The United States and Canada signed the world’s first organic equivalency agreement in Chicago on June 17. After nearly two years of negotiations, the Organic Trade Association says the agreement will allow organic products to be traded between the two countries. The agreement will allow farmers in each country to certify to their domestic organic standards, but they will be able to sell their products as organic in both markets.
The official signing took place at Organic Trade Association All Things Organic™ Conference and Trade Show at Lakeview Center, McCormick Place during the State of the Organic Industry in North America breakout session of the conference. The agreement, signed by the two government agencies, takes effect on June 30.
Since the organic standards between the U.S. and Canada differ in some areas, the equivalency agreement will also include some restrictions, mostly to respect Canadian organic standards. Products coming into Canada from the U.S. will not be allowed to come into Canada if they have been grown using sodium (“Chilean”) nitrate, a natural soluble nitrogen source allowed for restricted use under the National Organic Program of the U.S. Also, the U.S. will respect Canada’s prohibition on hydroponic growing of organic products, and any such products will not be allowed to be sold as organic in Canada.