Sometimes the work of producer commissions isn't easily visible, even to the farmers that pay the check-off. Certainly, to a group of university students, commissions can seem like an entirely different world. Geoff Backman is the manager of business development and markets with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions (AWBC). He studied at the University... Read More
Category: Trade
Brand new this year, China will be hosting its International Import Expo (CIIE). Ministers and trade partners from all over the world will be at this event, which is partnered with the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. Organizers say the aim for... Read More
It might not yet be December, but when things are all said and done the story of the year in agriculture for 2018 will be the U.S./China trade war. We have seen a a tit-for-tat tariff battle, shifting of traditional export pathways, and increased subsidy programs attempting to cover market losses while longer-term repairs are... Read More
The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, will be in Manitoba November 1. His trip is part of the federal trade diversification strategy that connects "innovative, ambitious and hard-working Canadians" to more global markets. In downtown Winnipeg, the Taste of Trade event will take place in which Carr will meet with agricultural producers,... Read More
When we think about cyber hacking, things like election tampering or credit card theft likely come to mind. A recent U.S. Department of Homeland Security report, however, focused on the very real threat of breaches and hacking of precision agriculture data. As tough as it has been for some to even conceptualize what data being... Read More
Canada's federal agriculture minister has struck working groups in relation to recent international trade deals and their impact on Canada's supply managed sectors. Of note, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says that there will be two working groups for dairy. These two groups, comprised of dairy farmers, government, researchers, dairy industry representatives, and processors, will focus... Read More
The news The premiers of Saskatchewan and Ontario have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the intention of improving and increasing trade between the two provinces. According to a just-released report, Sizing Up Provincial Trade Barriers, from BMO Capital Markets, the impact from free interprovincial trade could amount to $50 billion in total in ten... Read More
A group of self described 'like-minded' World Trade Organization (WTO) members met in Ottawa this week. The WTO reform was hosted by Jim Carr, minister of international trade diversification for Canada. Not included in this ‘like-minded’ group was Canada's closest neighbour and largest trading partner, the U.S. China also not included. The meeting, which took... Read More
To quote Canada's International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr, "Time to diversify," — and it looks like Canada has done just that, becoming the fifth nation to ratify the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Canada's Senate has cleared the way for the Asia-Pacific trade deal, roughly seven days after the third reading was passed.... Read More
The dust has settled after the fanfare of trade negotiators moving on from NAFTA 2.0 and giving us the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement, a new, trilateral trade agreement that moves now to ratification within each of the three signatories. Now, nearly a month out from the announcement, Canadians have sifted through news coverage and nearly half have... Read More