A view near the Canadian end of the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor and Detroit and is considered one of North America’s busiest trade routes. (Steven_Kriemadis/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada sticks to plan to stay at NAFTA talks despite Trump attack

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Thursday shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism that talks to modernize NAFTA were moving too slowly and made clear it had to keep negotiating as long as there was a chance of success. The prospects for a quick deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement appeared […] Read more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a news conference during the General Assembly of the United Nations in Manhattan on Sept. 26, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Amr Alfiky)

Trump slams Canada over NAFTA, says rejected Trudeau meeting

Reading Time: 3 minutes United Nations | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted Canada over the slow pace of talks over NAFTA, saying he was so unhappy that he had rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request for a one-on-one meeting. The remarks by Trump, who repeated a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian autos, knocked […] Read more


U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testifies at a Senate subcommittee hearing in Washington on July 26, 2018 on proposed budget estimates for the Office of the USTR. (Photo: Reuters/Mary F. Calvert)

Canada not making concessions needed for NAFTA deal, says U.S.

Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — Canada is not making concessions needed to reach a deal with the U.S. for a trilateral NAFTA pact and is running out of time before Washington proceeds with a Mexico-only agreement, a top U.S. official said on Tuesday. The administration of President Donald Trump has recently begun increasing the pressure […] Read more

Agropur’s Fromagerie Damafro, now slated to close in April next year, had been known as the developer of Quebec’s first-ever soft washed rind cheese, sold under the Saint-Damase brand. (OurCheeses.com)

Agropur to shut Monteregie fine cheese plant

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Quebec cheese plant formerly known as a top maker of Camembert- and Brie-type cheeses is set to shut permanently in April after five years under Agropur’s ownership. Quebec-based Agropur, North America’s biggest dairy co-operative, announced Friday it will start winding down operations at its Saint-Damase cheese plant in January ahead of the April 2019 […] Read more



Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a town hall meeting Jan. 10 in Hamilton. (PM.gc.ca)

Trudeau urges some U.S. flexibility in NAFTA talks

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday he wanted to see flexibility from the U.S. if the two sides are to reach a deal on renewing NAFTA, which Washington insists must be finished by the end of the month. Ottawa is pushing back against increasing pressure by the administration of […] Read more


Parmesan wheels seasoning. (Claudio Ventrella/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Buyer beware’ on Canada’s cheese concessions, EU exporters say

Reading Time: 3 minutes Toronto/Brussels | Reuters — A trade deal meant to give European cheesemakers more access to the Canadian market is falling short of its promise in its first full year, government data show, frustrating the European industry, which blames a year-old Ottawa quota system. Under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, […] Read more



A Holstein heifer on pasture in Quebec. (Lurin/iStock/Getty Images)

Sources say Canada ready to offer dairy access in NAFTA talks

Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — Canada is ready to offer the U.S. limited access to the Canadian dairy market as a concession in negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of Ottawa’s negotiating strategy said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said at the White House that trade […] Read more

Candian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks to journalists outside the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in Washington on Aug. 28. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Wattie)

Freeland to hold NAFTA talks Tuesday

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will meet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on Tuesday for another round of talks to renew the NAFTA trade pact, an official said on Monday, as time runs short to seal a deal. Freeland spokesman Adam Austen did not give details. After more than […] Read more