Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper will fly to Brussels Thursday in a bid to seal a free trade treaty with the European Union, his office said on Wednesday, signaling an end to negotiations that have dragged on much longer than planned. Canada initially said a deal would be struck by December 2011. It then pushed […] Read more
Dairy farmers angry as Canada, EU near trade pact
Canada/EU trade deal won’t come next week
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada and the European Union are still deadlocked over a long-delayed free trade agreement, officials said Friday, casting more doubt on the pact as the EU shifts focus to a bigger deal with the U.S. The deal was initially supposed to have been finished by the end of 2011, but there is no end in […] Read more
Canada, EU fail to settle differences over free trade pact
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada and the European Union failed to settle their differences on a proposed free trade deal this week at top-level talks to hammer out an agreement that is already well behind schedule. Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht spent Wednesday and Thursday in Ottawa discussing contentious issues including agricultural […] Read more
Much ground seen still to cover in Canada/EU trade talks
Reading Time: 3 minutes A large amount of work remains to be done on a proposed free trade treaty between Canada and the European Union, which is supposed to be concluded by the end of the year, a senior Canadian official was quoted as saying on Friday. Canada, keen to diversify its exports away from the United States, says […] Read more
CWB not commenting on talk of sales to Iran
Reading Time: < 1 minute The head of the Canadian Wheat Board on Thursday declined to comment on whether the board might be planning to sell wheat or barley to Iran, but added that “we sell wheat to Iran when they need it.” CWB CEO Ian White told Reuters, “We’ve often sold wheat to Iran and right now I wouldn’t […] Read more
Supply management a sore spot for Canada/EU trade pact
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada and the European Union will need to put in “quite a lot of hard work” to settle several key differences in talks on a proposed free trade deal, a senior official said Thursday. Canada, keen to diversify its exports away from the United States, opened a ninth round of negotiations with the European Union […] Read more
BHP’s Potash bid puts pro-business Ottawa to test
Reading Time: 3 minutes (Reuters) — Canada’s Conservative government will put its pro-business reputation on the line when it decides whether to let a foreign firm buy up resource giant PotashCorp — and Ottawa will win enemies whichever way it turns. If it says yes, it will alienate supporters in Saskatchewan, whose right-leaning government both backs the federal Conservatives […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
