The government didn’t doubt the sincerity of the United States’ chief negotiator when he told them his President wanted Canada’s supply management systems “gone.” Settling an update for the North American Free Trade Agreement had become tied to a few concessions on Canada’s part to ensure that a dispute resolution tool, outside of the U.S. […] Read more
NAFTA
Dairy farmers protest trade agreement
Dairy farmers were seething, but grain and meat producers were optimistic Monday after the announcement a North American trade deal had finally been reached. Dairy Farmers of Canada launched a Twitter campaign against the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland promised compensation. “A handful of […] Read more
Research teams disagree on cost of supply management
The United States and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday to salvage a three-country, $1.2 trillion open-trade zone agreement with Mexico that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century.
Not only are they satisfied that Canadian dairy, eggs and poultry prices were higher than those in the U.S. in 2015, they believe they have shown they still are higher today. That’s the bottom-line response from a team of analysts from the University of Manitoba to criticism from a team of Laval university professors to […] Read more
View from the U.S.: analysts discuss trade deal
(Reuters) — The United States and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, rescuing a three-country, $1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century. Here’s what analysts think of the new deal: John Bode, president & CEO, U.S. Corn […] Read more
NAFTA2 signed! Hallelujah! Now for the relief, the recovery, the resentment and dismay
For most Prairie farmers it's time to relax, it's a sad time to be a Canadian, and the future looks grim for dairy farmers without a national plan
NAFTA2 has been signed! Hallelujah! Now it’s time for relief, recovery, resentment and dismay. RELIEF The vast majority of Western Canadian farmers will be relieved by the survival of NAFTA. (Editorial note: I refuse to use the term USMCA, and I suggest you do too. It’s propaganda. For the record, I also generally refuse to […] Read more
Trump cites ‘historic’ trade pact with Canada, Mexico
WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday took credit for salvaging a trilateral free trade accord with Canada and Mexico, marking it as a victory in his campaign to reshape global commerce as financial markets breathed a sigh of relief. The deal, announced on Sunday, is a reworking of the 1994 […] Read more
Canada, U.S. reach deal to update NAFTA
OTTAWA/WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The United States and Canada reached a deal to update NAFTA and keep it a trilateral pact with Mexico, beating a midnight deadline with agreements to boost U.S. access to Canada’s dairy market and protect Canada from possible U.S. autos tariffs, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of the talks […] Read more
Under pressure – a WP Special Report
Supply management, particularly Canada’s dairy industry, has come under heavy scrutiny in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Western Producer reporters Barb Glen, Robert Arnason and Ed White look at the American and Canadian systems to see where problems are, where solutions might be found and what would happen if Canada adopted the U.S. […] Read more
Who pays more?
The cost of Canadian supply managed products to the average household has long been an item of interest.
The Western Producer compared six common food-basket items across the northern tier of the U.S. and Canada, using similar grocery stores, regions and community sizes. In a four-day period last week, we made sure to check regular prices at larger chain grocery stores, rather than using flyer or loss-leader sales. We compared prices for common […] Read more
U.S. milk industry sours
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisconsin — The sky was a deep blue, the air was warm and it was a beautiful morning to be on a dairy farm in western Wisconsin. And then, Mandy Nunes began to cry. Mandy, who runs Scientific Holsteins with her husband Matt, was sharing how her family had milked cows for five […] Read more
