A trade deficit is defined as the amount by which the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports. It's a metric that U.S. President Donald Trump frequently refers to when explaining or tweeting about his positions on trade, whether referring to NAFTA, China, or the new tariffs on steel and aluminum.... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Canada is internationally know for its clean water, Rocky Mountains, and endless prairie skies. Our agricultural groups use this "clean and pristine" currency to their benefit whenever they are selling our wares overseas, but does a blue sky and waving grain really sell more crops? More than that, can we quantify Canada's record on soil,... Read More
With NAFTA negotiations underway, talk of new tariffs, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. at a critical juncture in its history, the U.S. capital was an appropriate setting for the Western Canadian Wheat Growers' 48th annual convention this week. The current trade and transportation issues, which are tied together in driving the export-based... Read More
Just this week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released the Trump Administration's Trade Policy Agenda and Annual Report, saying "We are already seeing the results of President Trump’s agenda pay off for American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses." But not every American would agree with that statement, and some farm grower organizations are anxious to... Read More
As the volume of grain backed up on farms in Western Canada grows, proposed transportation legislation that could help grain shippers address poor rail service remains stalled in the Senate. As it's written right now, Bill C-49 — originally introduced in the House of Commons last spring — would give grain shippers the right to... Read More
The 2018-19 federal budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Tuesday did not contain any major farm programs or funding. "We had to do some deep digging to actually see some positives for farmers. It's really lacking compared to budget 2017 when they had ambitious goals for agriculture — exports worth $75 billion by... Read More
When assessing whether there was progress made on removing restrictions on Canadian pulse crops during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's controversy-filled trip to India last week, it's a matter of defining what the expectations were, says the CEO of Pulse Canada. If the expectation was to simply have pulses on the agenda, it could be described... Read More
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is building support for its vision of Ontario agriculture and food and it's banking on a new partnership with other key stakeholders to make politicians take notice. With a provincial election campaign just over three months away, OFA travelled to Queen’s Park last week to ask politicians to spread... Read More
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has followed through on his leadership campaign promise to reinstate PST exemptions for agriculture, life and health insurance premiums, effective Monday. The provincial sales tax was raised in last year's budget from 5 to 6 percent, and applied to goods and services that were previously exempt, such as insurance premiums. The... Read More
It was the trade agreement that almost wasn't, but now that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is headed towards completion, Canadian commodity groups are tallying up the potential impact the deal will have on trade in the coming years. Rick White, CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, recently sat down with Shaun Haney to talk TPP11,... Read More