American agriculture groups call for CUSMA renewal
American agriculture and food groups are calling for a full, 16-year renewal of the CUSMA trade deal.
In a letter this week, 124 organizations expressed support for the agreement, which they said has allowed American farm exports to soar.
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CUSMA is up for review in 2026 amid ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S.
The groups said many U.S. agricultural commodities have benefitted from new or expanded access to Canadian and Mexican markets. Any adjustments should be carefully considered to avoid negative impacts to agriculture.
The letter also pointed out that Canada is the largest or second-largest market for many American products like feed, processed foods and biofuels. It called Canada the strongest trading partner for U.S. agriculture and its continued success.
India slaps 30 per cent duty on yellow peas
Less than a week after it said it would keep tariffs at zero through March, India has slapped a 30 per cent duty on yellow pea imports. That starts November first.
Vivek Agrawal is director of JLV Agro, an Indian commodity brokerage firm. He said farmer unions in India pressured the government to implement the duty. They believe the duty-free imports were depressing prices for other pulses like chickpeas and pigeon peas.
Agrawal said he thinks the duty will be in place for at least a year, but suggested it won’t completely halt trade with Canada.
Canada now faces trade-reducing tariffs on both of it’s top markets. China put a 100 per cent levy on Canadian peas back in March. The trade barriers are taking their toll on yellow pea prices, which are already down 34 per cent from a year ago according to Saskatchewan Agriculture.
Canadians put more trust in food system amid trade tensions
U.S. tariff threats have boosted Canadians’ view of the nation’s food system according to a new report.
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity conducts an annual survey of public trust. This year, 58 per cent of Canadians said they had a positive view of the Canadian food system. That’s up from 45 per cent in 2024.
Forty-five per cent of Canadians also said the system is headed in the right direction. That’s the highest level of positivity since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The centre attributed some of this boost to Canadians rallying around local food in the face of trade tensions.
The survey also showed that, for the first time, scientists had overtaken farmers as the most trusted members of the food system. Forty-four per cent of people rated scientists trustworthy. Farmers were a close second at 42 per cent.
