Canada
Canada and Mexico yawn at Trump threat to nix NAFTA
President Trump’s new threat to terminate NAFTA, made during a rally in Phoenix, is a negotiating tactic rather than a serious possibility, said Canadian and Mexican officials. “This was always a card we knew the president would likely play . . . it may have been a bit earlier than expected,” a Canadian official told Reuters.
After starting NAFTA talks, Trump says he may terminate the pact
President Trump told a rally in Phoenix that he may have to kill NAFTA in order to get better trade terms with Canada and Mexico. “Personally, I don’t think we can make a deal,” he said, days after the first round of negotiations for the new NAFTA. “I think we’ll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point.”
Farm groups to NAFTA negotiators: Do no harm, do no harm, do no harm
“From your perspective, would it have been better if the Trump administration had never raised the issue of renegotiating NAFTA?” The Bloomberg Radio reporter had to ask the question twice before he got an answer, maybe because it conveyed the uncomfortable, but undeniable, sentiment at Wednesday’s joint press conference by the three main farm groups from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
As talks begin, here’s our recent NAFTA coverage
As talks between Canada, Mexico, and the United States begin on renegotiating NAFTA, here’s an archive of our recent coverage of the trade agreement in Ag Insider. (No paywall)
NAFTA’s brewing milk war
As NAFTA renegotiations get underway, dairy is shaping up as major sticking point between Canada and the United States. After Canada’s foreign affairs minister insisted on Monday that Canada will defend its tightly controlled approach to its dairy industry, the president of the National Milk Producers Federation accused her of trying to have it both ways on free trade.
Canada’s guest farmworker program accused of human rights abuses
With Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau taking to Twitter to welcome immigrants to his country, Canada has gained a reputation for being friendly to new arrivals. But now the nation’s guest farmworker program has come under scrutiny for human rights abuses and treatment that is anything but hospitable.
Perdue: New NAFTA mantra must be ‘Do no harm to agriculture’
With negotiations for the "new NAFTA" to begin next week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says he is repeating one message to the White House: First, do no harm to agriculture. U.S. farm exports to Canada and Mexico quadrupled under the 1994 trade agreement, and U.S. farm groups fear that renegotiating the deal will disrupt their duty-free access to the border nations.
Meet the farmers who say NAFTA hasn’t helped them
Big Ag has long chanted the benefits of NAFTA to American farmers, pointing out that the free-trade deal with Mexico and Canada has quadrupled U.S. farm exports since it went into effect in 1994. “But despite the largely pro-trade drumbeat in the ag sector, there are plenty of farmers who feel otherwise,” say Kristina Johnson and Sam Fromartz in FERN’s latest story, published with NPR’s The Salt.
AquaBounty notches first sale of its GMO salmon
In a transaction that was 25 years in the making, U.S.-based AquaBounty Technologies announced the sale of 10,000 pounds of its GMO salmon to customers in Canada, meaning "genetically engineered salmon has reached the dinner plate," says the journal Nature. "This is the first time that a genetically engineered animal has been sold for food on the open market."
Hand-wringing and hand-holding ahead of NAFTA talks
At nearly the same time Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was calming fears of a downturn in U.S.-Mexico agricultural trade, some Mexican farm groups demanded that agriculture be left out of the "new NAFTA" negotiations that begin in 16 days.
Want to start a farm? Move to Canada’s Yukon.
As climate change shifts growing zones north, officials in Canada’s sparsely populated Yukon territory are trying to lure farmers to the region with offers of free land. If they agree to abide by a few requirements, prospective farmers can get up to 160 acres.
The ‘new NAFTA’ inspires anxiety on both sides of the border
At a House Agriculture Committee hearing on “opportunities for agriculture” through the renegotiation of NAFTA, an array of farm and trade groups testified that customers, especially in Mexico, are hedging their bets about access to U.S. farm exports and looking for alternative suppliers.
White House says it will knock down NAFTA barriers
The White House cleared the way to begin renegotiation of NAFTA as early as Aug. 16 by listing its goals for the talks; in short, "The new NAFTA must continue to break down barriers to American exports." The administration scored Canada for blocking access to its dairy, wine and grain markets, "barriers that the current agreement is unequipped to handle."
Lighthizer says there’s no deadline for the new NAFTA
The Trump administration has a target for beginning the renegotiation of NAFTA — mid-August — but there is no deadline for wrapping up discussions, assuming that talks are fruitful, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. "We're going to get a good agreement, one that is transformative," Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee.
NAFTA is mutually beneficial, say ag ministers, but needs to be ‘modernized’
President Trump calls NAFTA a bad deal for the United States and insists it needs a major overhaul. But today the agriculture ministers of Canada, Mexico, and the United States said that while the agreement should get an update, it has been beneficial for North America’s farmers and ranchers.
Looking at Canada, U.S. dairy groups will work on NAFTA update
In joint comments to the U.S. trade representative’s office, two U.S. dairy groups said they will work with the Trump administration to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement in hopes of gaining wider access to the Canadian market.
With NAFTA on the horizon, U.S. deals with Canada and Mexico ag issues
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue went north and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross looked south as the Trump administration focused on North American food and farm trade issues. Based on "quite meaningful" progress, Ross allowed an additional 24 hours to complete a deal on sugar imports from Mexico, while Perdue discussed the future of two-way farm trade with Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence Macaulay.
Canada beats U.S. in pork sales to China
After almost completely removing the growth-promoting drug ractopamine from its pigs, Canada is outpacing the U.S. in pork sales to China, where the drug is banned. Canada has only beat out the U.S. in pork sales a handful of times in the last 20 years, says Reuters.
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.