Reading Time: < 1 minute Hanoi | Reuters — Vietnam’s pork imports during the first 11 months of this year more than doubled to 110,000 tonnes, the ministry of finance said on Thursday, as the country’s pig herd has been battered by an outbreak of African swine fever. Since the disease was first detected in February, it has spread to […] Read more
Vietnam’s pork imports more than double amid swine fever outbreak
U.S. won’t levy new tariffs on Brazil, Trump tells Bolsonaro
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump told him in a phone conversation that his administration will not levy new tariffs on Brazilian steel and aluminum as threatened earlier this month. “I had a phone conversation a few moments ago with Donald Trump. … He […] Read more
Fictional nation Wakanda removed from USDA trade list
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it removed the fictional country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free trade agreements with the United States on Thursday. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the home of Black Panther, the Marvel superhero, and is portrayed in comic books and the 2018 […] Read more
Puerto Rico cries foul over U.S. Congress’s cockfighting ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes San Juan | Reuters — An attempt by the U.S. Congress to ban cockfighting in Puerto Rico has set off a debate about animal cruelty, put thousands of jobs at risk and sparked a possible power struggle between the U.S. territory’s government and Washington. The 500-year-old tradition of cockfighting in Puerto Rico was due to […] Read more
Mosaic to cut fertilizer production as weather dampens demand
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Mosaic Co. said Thursday it will reduce fertilizer production until market conditions improve, as a difficult harvest season in North America has led to reduced fertilizer usage. Agricultural companies’ profits have been hammered this year due to an unusually cold and wet weather that has delayed planting season in North America, and lower […] Read more
U.S. House passes CUSMA
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with neighbouring Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 bipartisan vote, sending the NAFTA replacement measure to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) more than a year after […] Read more
Canada could be last to ratify CUSMA deal, Trudeau says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada could be the last of the three North American countries to ratify a new trade deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, indicating that his plan to match the U.S. timetable was set to fail. Trudeau’s Liberal government said from the start it wanted to work in tandem with […] Read more
Ford recalls Super Duty pickups on post-crash fire risk
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would recall 547,538 of its Ford Super Duty pickup trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, citing the risk of a post-crash interior fire. The second-largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers certain models between the years 2017 and 2019 with carpet flooring that could experience a […] Read more
Farmers hit by trade disputes should be helped faster, Trudeau says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s agriculture department should move more quickly to help farmers harmed by protectionist measures imposed by other nations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Canadian farmers are caught up in a trade and diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing. In a formal letter of instruction to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Trudeau […] Read more
K+S considering sale of stakes in potash, salt businesses
Reading Time: < 1 minute Frankfurt | Reuters — German potash and salt miner K+S said it was looking into selling stakes in its North American businesses because an ongoing cost cutting push would not yield enough savings to reach its debt reduction target. A company spokesman said K+S was considering selling a stake in its Bethune, Sask. potash mine […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
