It really seems that NAFTA is on thin ice, and this proverbial frozen trade pond seems to be full of cracks. North American agriculture is holding its breath before it's plunged into the cold water under that ice, except, there is one agriculture group that has nothing to lose. They're standing on land, by themselves:... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
After a dramatic few days where Canada's future in the Trans-Pacific Partnership appeared uncertain, the 11 countries tried to end the week on a positive note. All 11 have agreed on "core elements" for a revised Pacific trade deal, but they are still negotiating several files as leaders head home from Vietnam. "Ministers are pleased... Read More
Multiple media outlets, including Reuters and Inside Trade, are reporting an agreement-in-principle has been reached between the 11 remaining countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in Vietnam this week. However, Canada's trade minister denies there's a tentative deal, a day before world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S President Donald Trump and Chinese President... Read More
In a move to support domestic prices after a bumper crop, India's government has announced a 50 percent import duty on peas, while also raising its tariff on wheat from 10 to 20 percent. The country's Central Board of Excise and Customs issued an order on Wednesday seeking to "increase rate of basic customs duty... Read More
Just leave it alone. Don't ask for too much and jeopardize a deal that could potentially be finalized this weekend. That's what Canadian agriculture groups representing farmers who depend on trade are telling the Ottawa as leaders from the remaining 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership countries head to Vietnam. The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance sent a strongly-worded... Read More
The federal government has decided to not make any changes to how it treats deferred cash purchase tickets for grain after proposing in the 2017 budget to potentially eliminate the option. Many farm groups voiced their opposition to the idea of dropping the income tax deferral mechanism during consultations held in spring and early summer.... Read More
Canadians' support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership has nearly doubled since early 2016, according to new survey results from the Angus Reid Institute. 59 percent of Canadians now say they support the TPP, up from 32 percent in Angus Reid's last survey, conducted in early 2016. (The survey included a representative randomized sample of 1504 Canadian... Read More
“The silos of agriculture are crumbling, like it or not," says Eric Fridfinnson, chair of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association — one of five commodity groups in Manitoba that are working toward amalgamating. "It’s a change we’ve all observed over the years,” he continues. “This approach – the approach we’ve been working on – has... Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has made a change to its labeling rules for packers that moves the Canadian pork industry a step closer to benefitting from the Canada-European Union trade agreement. A change to the CFIA Manual of Procedures will now allow packers to apply EU health mark labels after meat has been... Read More
Despite major concerns from the farm community, Manitoba's agriculture minister says the provincial government was left with no choice but to move forward with implementing a carbon tax. "If we say no, then we'll get Trudeau," says Ralph Eichler in the interview below, referring to the Prime Minister's national carbon price mandate. Eichler joined us... Read More