Sonny Perdue and Lawrence MacAulay have their obvious differences. One is American and the other is Canadian. One has right wing politics and the other leans a little more to the left. One likes ice cream and the other...oh wait, they do have some things in common. Besides ice cream, they both like to talk... Read More
Category: Trade
The federal Liberals' reluctance to show that they want to move forward on the Trans-Pacific Partnership could be due to competition for votes in certain Ontario, Quebec and B.C. ridings in 2019, according to a trade expert with the Canada West Foundation. It's difficult to get an answer on why Canada has not been more... Read More
As round two of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations wrap up, many followers remain unsurprised by the three countries' inability to see eye-to-eye. The last two weeks have been filled with threats of termination, promises to close the deal by year-end and a complete lack of agreement (except on the location of... Read More
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois on Wednesday, where he scrummed with the media and was pressed on the fact that there are mixed messages coming from the White House on trade. As Canada, the U.S. and Mexico head into round two of NAFTA talks this weekend, President... Read More
Even though NAFTA negotiations are underway, TPP is still vitally important if Canada and the US want to expand exports. President Trump removed the United States from TPP shortly after his inaugaration, which has caused some of the remaining eleven TPP countries to do some soul searching. Canada has been searching for its own identity... Read More
In a speech that reminded everyone that Donald Trump loves to campaign maybe even more than actually being President, the foundations of NAFTA could be rockier than people want to believe. The President gave a rally speech in Arizona where he stated “I don’t think we can make a deal because we have been so... Read More
What’s the value of public opinion? That’s a question I find myself asking more often these days. In a democracy, public opinion should matter and politicians and policy makers should have a strong understanding of the people’s will when making public policy. But should they give the people what they want? Today we have no... Read More
The Canadian economy has been healthy as of late, which has many farmers with higher debt levels somewhat concerned about interest rate increases in the near future. Farmers have enjoyed a low interest rate environment for quite some time, but the reality is - the Bank of Canada has some some decisions to make. Additionally... Read More
As the clash between the U.S. and Canadian dairy industries escalates in the NAFTA talks, Dairy Farmers of Canada has found some allies in U.S. dairy outside of the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Federation. In the National Post on Friday, Darin Von Ruden, who has a 50-cattle, multi-generational farm and heads... Read More
With the NAFTA renegotiations starting this week, officials with the U.S. National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) were in Calgary for the Canadian Beef Industry Conference, showing their support for the relationship between the two countries. Representatives from both the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and NCBA plan on heading to Washington for the anticipating beginning of the... Read More