NAFTA
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."
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.
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.
Two sides of Washington: Trump bailout and China tariffs
The Trump administration will hear hours of testimony about its proposed 25 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products on Monday, overlapping with the expected USDA announcement of up to $12 billion in aid for U.S. agriculture to offset the impact of Chinese tariffs on farm exports. Soybean growers are likely to get the largest share of the spending since the oilseed is the largest ag export to China.
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.
Slow going on trade, no aid for small business, says Lighthizer
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told senators on Thursday that “hopefully, we are in the finishing stages” of negotiating the new NAFTA. At the same time, he said Japan is balking at writing a trade agreement with the United States and the administration has yet to start talks with other Pacific Rim nations as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
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.
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."
U.S. asks for WTO ruling on wine sales in British Columbia
The third-most populous province in Canada discriminates unfairly against U.S. wine, said the Trump administration in asking the World Trade Organization to rule on retail wine sales in British Columbia. The issue of wine sales in grocery stores has been raised in negotiations over the new NAFTA as well.
What comes after ‘Got Milk?’ It’s ‘Got Jobs?’
The U.S. dairy industry launched the “Got Jobs?” campaign on Monday to highlight the importance of the dairy sector and build support for dairy exports, which account for about 14 percent of U.S. milk production.
Perdue forecasts peaceful, successful end to trade conflicts
President Trump is a maverick when it comes to international relations, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday while assuring farm-state senators that successful negotiations would resolve the threat of a trade war.
To offset tariffs, USDA may buy farm products
China threatened to put 25 percent tariffs on U.S. farm exports "because they think it hits me," President Trump said on Monday, but "we'll make it up to them (farmers) and in the end they're going to be much stronger than they are now." Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steve Censky, at a separate appearance, said the USDA was considering options that include purchase of surplus commodities to prop up prices.
Farmer confidence fades over trade concerns
Nearly twice as many producers believe there is a risk of a trade war that will significantly damage farm exports as say that risk is low, according to a Purdue University poll of farmers and ranchers.
Trade disputes could hatch a ‘Trump tariff payment’ to farmers
Farmers are worried about foreign retaliation to U.S. trade sanctions, said the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, suggesting that Congress may have to create a “special payment due to retaliation.”