Canada
‘Dairy was a deal-breaker’ in writing NAFTA’s successor, says president
President Trump veered between predicting easy approval of the new Canada-Mexico-U.S. trade agreement and expressing concerns about opposition to the pact on Monday while declaring that the agreement “is a very, very big deal for our farmers.”
Canada to eliminate Class 7 barrier, allow more U.S. access to dairy market
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement that will succeed NAFTA includes the elimination of Canada’s Class 7 dairy price system and greater U.S. access to the Canadian dairy market than offered in the TPP free trade agreement, said senior administration officials late Sunday.
Japan sets limit on ag access in trade talks with U.S.
The United States and Japan will open negotiations on a free trade agreement “that can produce early results” on manufactured goods, announced President Trump and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday. Japan, however, said that in the upcoming negotiations it would not lower tariffs on food, agriculture, and fishery imports.
Canada needs ‘flexibility’ on dairy in NAFTA bargaining, says Mulroney
Amid rumors that Canada will offer concessions on dairy trade, former prime minister Brian Mulroney said he would be surprised if the new NAFTA did not include "flexibility" on the country's supply management system. Agriculture is a small part of NAFTA trade but it is a stubborn impediment in U.S.-Canada negotiations.
To get NAFTA, Canada must drop Class 7 dairy scheme, says Perdue
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue described a potential tri-national agreement on a new NAFTA as the start of a domino effect in rewriting U.S. relations with trading partners around world. "I would love to have a deal today with Canada to put NAFTA back together," said Perdue during a C-SPAN interview in which he called for reform of Canada's supply-management system."
Administration optimistic on Canada, less so on China, say ag leaders
On Wednesday, three state Farm Bureau presidents told administration leaders, including President Trump, that farmers, hit hard by retaliatory tariffs, need open markets soon. “There’s a fairly short runway,” said South Dakota’s Scott VanderWal.
U.S. farm group would support supply management in NAFTA
Agriculture amounts to a small part of NAFTA trade volume but it is a major sticking point for U.S. and Canadian negotiators who are scheduled to resume negotiations on the new NAFTA on Wednesday. The second-largest U.S. farm group said the White House ought to adopt the dairy supply management system that it reportedly is trying to eliminate in Canada and reinstate country-of-origin labeling on beef.
Dairy is the big farm issue for NAFTA, says Perdue
Dairy is not the only agricultural dispute between the United States and Canada, but it is the biggest one, according to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Senior U.S. officials say the new NAFTA must include greater U.S. dairy access to Canada.
Trade war ends China’s role as top U.S. ag export customer
Canada, runner-up for most of this decade, has replaced China as the top market for U.S. farm exports because of the high tariffs that have discouraged sales in the Sino-U.S. trade war, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday. China will finish this year as the No. 3 customer for U.S. ag exports, behind Mexico.
Trudeau says Canada won’t yield on dairy system
With negotiators facing an informal deadline of Friday for agreement on the new NAFTA, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will reject U.S. proposals to dismantle its supply management system, said Canadian Press on Wednesday.
Bilateral is good, trilateral is better in NAFTA talks, say farm groups
President Trump dangled the possibility of terminating NAFTA, which generates one-third of U.S. food and ag trade, at the same time he announced a tentative trade agreement with Mexico on Monday. Farm groups said NAFTA should stay in effect until a new agreement linking North America's three economic giants is in place.
Trump tariff bailout may be sunlight ahead of storm clouds over farm sector
Crop and livestock producers are likely to learn on Monday how the Trump administration will allocate up to $12 billion in aid to offset the impact of retaliatory Chinese tariffs on the U.S. farm sector, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
Canada expects to be back soon at NAFTA negotiations
The three-corner negotiations for the new NAFTA have looked bilateral for a few weeks, because the United States has been meeting with Mexico. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Canada expects to return to the talks very soon. Agriculture has been a stubborn and often over-looked issue for the nations. The Trump administration reportedly dropped a proposal for seasonal restrictions on imports of Mexican produce.
Trump: ‘We’re getting there’ on NAFTA
Even as he continued to blast Canadian dairy tariffs, President Trump said on Tuesday that “we’re getting there” in negotiations for the new NAFTA.
Play nicely, Canada, and you can keep supply management, Perdue says
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was quick to say he's not a NAFTA negotiator but he repeatedly told reporters during a visit to Prince Edward Island that "it is not our desire to do away with" Canada's supply management system for dairy – if Canada does a better job of managing the supply. "They can't use the supply management system to negatively affect our producers south of the border," said Perdue during a teleconference.
Handful of GMO wheat plants found in southern Alberta
Canadian regulators are puzzled by the discovery of seven genetically modified wheat stalks in southern Alberta that contain herbicide-tolerant genes, said the Manitoba Cooperator, but they say there's no sign of GMO wheat in the country's seed or wheat supplies. No country has approved GMO wheat for commercial use. Japan suspended purchases of Canadian wheat on Friday until it is certain there are no GMOs in the grain, reported Global News.
NAFTA talks will continue through summer, says Canada
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is in Canada for a bilateral meeting today with Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on “issues of shared importance in agriculture.” At the same time, NAFTA negotiations seem to be gaining new footing.
Trump wants to ruin us, say Canadian dairy farmers
President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Canadian dairy industry with the aim of "wiping out dairy farmers here at home," said Dairy Farmers of Canada on Monday. Meanwhile, U.S. and Canadian farm groups urged government leaders "to engage in positive discourse that protects the strong trade ties that benefit American and Canadian farmers alike."
Canada cautions on ‘Product of USA’ regulation
Canada and the United States are a global example of cross-border trade in food and agriculture products, forecast to exceed $65 billion this year. But Arun Alexander, Canada's deputy ambassador in Washington, said Tuesday "we are concerned about the real world consequences" of changing the rules on the voluntary "Product of USA" label.