Canada
Covid-19, ‘this global tragedy,’ flattens U.S. ag exports
Throttled by pandemic, U.S. farm exports this year will barely exceed last year's totals, wiping out hopes of a speedy recovery from trade-war losses, said the USDA. Sales to China are rising but slower than projected when the "phase one" trade agreement with Beijing took effect in February, and far from the tripling necessary to satisfy the purchase levels specified in the pact.<strong>(No paywall)</strong>
Maybe we should cut off cattle imports, says Trump
Voluntary, not mandatory, meat-origin labels, says Perdue
Despite interest among cattle activists, a return to mandatory country-of-origin labels on beef "is not going to happen unless we want to do a billion-dollar litigation damage with Mexico and Canada," said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday.
Senate to give Trump a trade victory days before impeachment trial
Near-unanimous Senate approval, ‘hopefully soon,’ predicted for USMCA
House to start ‘new NAFTA’ on its way to reality
The Democratic-controlled House is set to approve one of President Trump’s top priorities today — an updated North American trade pact — a day after impeaching him. The Senate is not expected to give final congressional approval to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement until early next year.
Lighthizer seeks to reassure Mexico on USMCA deal
With the "new NAFTA" nearing a House vote, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer assured Mexico that disputes over labor provisions of the trade agreement will be resolved by independent panels. Mexico was suspicious that a U.S. proposal to post five Labor Department attaches in Mexico City was an underhanded way of bringing foreign labor inspectors into the country.
A deal on USMCA, but final approval will wait until 2020
Kudlow says ‘no arbitrary deadlines,’ but a Sino-U.S. trigger date is near
China said it would waive import tariffs on some shipments of U.S. soybeans and pork in a goodwill gesture hours before White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two nations were close to an interim agreement on the trade war. "No arbitrary deadlines," said Kudlow, but the Trump administration has set Dec. 15 as the date for higher duties on $160 billion of consumer goods made in China.
House Democrats stress USMCA enforcement in meeting with Trudeau
The House Democratic task force on the so-called new NAFTA “has made substantial progress” with U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer on modifications to the tri-national agreement, said a statement from the Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday.
Pence tells Iowa, ‘I came … to turn up the heat’ on USMCA
Time is running short for President Trump to win congressional approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement this year, with lawmakers set to work just eight weeks before adjourning in early December. Vice President Mike Pence called on House Democrats on Wednesday to set aside their “partisan impeachment” inquiry and approve the USMCA.
Impeachment inquiry casts shadow on ‘new NAFTA’
President Trump is creating instability in the farm sector with his periodic threats to withdraw from NAFTA, said the senior Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Also at an Agriculture hearing on Wednesday, farm groups called for speedy passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which has been put in doubt by the opening of an impeachment inquiry in the House.
September is for USMCA deal-making, says Grassley
Mild recovery forecast for U.S. ag exports after a trade war tumble
U.S. farm exports plunged by an abrupt 6 percent this year due to the Sino-U.S. trade war and a worldwide slowdown in economic growth, but they will rebound mildly in the year ahead, said the USDA on Thursday. However, the agency’s first forecast of exports in fiscal 2020 excluded the impact of a promised mutual escalation this fall of the trade war between China and the United States.
U.S. apple exports plunge due to trade disputes
The U.S. Apple Association, a trade group, called for free access to overseas markets on Thursday, as it reported that export sales for 2018 had plummeted to $854 million, down from $1.1 billion in 2017.
Trump: USMCA vote will be ‘very bipartisan’
On Thursday, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seated at his side, President Trump predicted a “very bipartisan” vote in Congress for adoption of the so-called new NAFTA, though when the House will vote on the trade pact is unclear.
Mexico ratifies USMCA; Trudeau and Trump to discuss pact today
Mexico’s Senate ratified the “new NAFTA” on a 114-4 vote on Wednesday, making Mexico the first country to approve the free trade agreement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is to meet President Trump at the White House Thursday to discuss the path forward on the pact.
Some ‘plussing up’ needed before White House seeks USMCA vote