A year ago, in an attempt to outsource the first column of 2018, written to meet a pre-Christmas deadline, I turned to computer algorithms for insight. The results were poetic, but largely indecipherable. The point then was that as much as technology can provide benefits, it still takes human knowledge to make sense of the […] Read more
Tag Archives Trump

Dull and diligent likely to prevail over Trump trade tactics
America’s mercurial, combative, antagonistic and games-playing president fancies himself a brilliant negotiator. But I’m betting he’s going to get fleeced by Canada’s dull and diligent trade team, and so successfully that he never even realizes he’s been had. I was just in Washington, D.C., and President Donald Trump’s trade talk is still the talk-of-the-town, which […] Read more

As trade tensions mount, China soybean buyers devise contingency plans
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese buyers of soybeans, the United States’ biggest agricultural export to the country, are quietly drawing up contingency plans to ensure supplies of critical raw materials in the event of a trade war, sources said. The moves are the strongest sign yet that businesses in the world’s most populous country are growing […] Read more

Dairy producers respond to Trump’s attack on industry
Canadian dairy farmers say they won’t be cowed by criticism from other countries — or other Canadians — about their supply managed system. However, they are getting weary of being under attack. “It would be nice to not be the centre of attention,” said Dairy Farmers of Manitoba chair David Wiens. The system set up […] Read more

Trudeau urges Trump not to pull out of NAFTA
OTTAWA (Reuters) —Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to withdraw from NAFTA in a call on Wednesday, saying such a move would be counter-productive, a Canadian source familiar with the matter said today. Trudeau made the comments after Trump told him he was thinking about pulling out of the North American […] Read more

White House readies order to quit NAFTA
UPDATE: President Donald Trump’s tweets later in the day appear to have altered the focus of the administration’s attitude toward NAFTA. Trump says NAFTA deal with Canada, Mexico, is ‘very possible’ WASHINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement with neighboring Canada and […] Read more

Trump could hurt ag sector: NCBA
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Agriculture could suffer harmful repercussions if long-standing free trade agreements are dismantled, said a trade expert with the U.S.-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. U.S. President Donald Trump has served notice he wants the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiated. He sees Mexico as the primary target from which to gain what he […] Read more

Don’t fear NAFTA renegotiation talk: trade expert
Despite Donald Trump’s stand, Canadian official says level heads will prevail and no one will ‘blow the whole NAFTA up’
Leaders of Canadian companies and industry associations are holding their breath because U.S. president-elect Donald Trump may demolish the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump has said over the last 18 months in nearly every speech that NAFTA has been a horrific agreement for U.S. businesses and American workers. He has vowed to rip up […] Read more