Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative, has said that trade between Canada and the U.S. should be balanced, which means the amount of goods flowing south into America should equal the amount of goods moving north into Canada. Put another way, the country that exports more product is the winner and the country that imports […] Read more
NAFTA
VIDEO: U.S. ag secretary defends NAFTA
Sean Pratt is attending the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California. The gathering of U.S. corn, soybean, wheat and sorghum growers is America’s largest farmer-led convention. Look for stories in upcoming issues of The Western Producer. In the meantime, here is a blog of some of the things he is hearing at the conference. ANAHEIM, […] Read more
Former PM urges Ottawa to take tough stance with NAFTA
Know what’s in your grain contracts and make sure they protect and reward you as much as they protect and reward the buyer. That was advice from a seasoned sunflower marketer, speaking at CropConnect, to farmers thinking about contracting the crop. It makes a lot of sense because farmers can end up on the delivery […] Read more
NAFTA: Canadian approach right say conservative icons
Playing for time and sticking to the free trade guns is what Canada appears to be doing. That’s a good thing, say two prominent voices on Canada-United States trade, because surviving the Donald J. Trump administration’s protectionist tendencies will take fortitude and commitment to preserve a trading relationship of incredible benefit to Canada. “On this […] Read more
U.S. not budging on ‘old guard’ trade stance
If nothing else, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer gets high marks for consistency. Since August, when re-negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement began, Lighthizer has said the U.S. wants to rebalance trade with Canada and Mexico. Some economists and trade experts have dismissed Lighthizer’s comments as posturing and a tactic to put pressure […] Read more
NAFTA fears may be slowing hog barn growth: Man. ag minister
Despite clearing away a moratorium on hog barns and making it easier to invest in Manitoba businesses, few hog barn applications have come before the provincial government. Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler thinks United States President Donald Trump’s frequent but confusing attacks on the North American Free Trade Agreement might have something to do with it. […] Read more
Japan key in new TPP deal
OTTAWA — Canadian farmers should be doing a Snoopy-like dance of joy over the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, says an agricultural trade expert who served Canada for three decades. That’s because the deal opens up the Japanese market, a feat that would have been nearly impossible in a Canada-Japan free […] Read more
Opinion: Dairy progress off table if NAFTA fails
To the U.S. dairy industry: Your industry has a window of opportunity for improving access to the Canadian dairy market. However, that window will close if the North American Free Trade Agreement talks fail. Your chances for improved access will be even worse if the United States withdraws from NAFTA. U.S. negotiators have made poison-pill […] Read more
WP Editorial: Dairy concerns legitimate but TPP still a no-brainer
It has become inevitable that any comprehensive trade deal Canada signs results in the surrender of part of its supply management system. However, exclusion from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership — we call it the TPP-11 — was never an option. Canada’s exports to South Korea, for example, plunged when that country […] Read more
Capital Letters: Slow progress at NAFTA talks prolongs the uncertainty
If there’s one line that emerged in Montreal this week on NAFTA, it’s this: progress is being made, but there’s still quite a ways to go. The sixth round of North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation wrapped up in Montreal Jan. 29 — nine days after trade officials first descended on the city. Despite “significant” […] Read more
