Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — Facing deeply entrenched differences and political headwinds, the top negotiators trying to reach a sweeping U.S.-European free trade deal avoided agriculture, public procurement and other thorny issues in talks this week. Instead, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Daniel Mullaney and European Commission lead negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercera said on Friday they […] Read more
U.S., European trade negotiators battle political headwinds
Australia, Indonesia renew push for trade deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sydney | Reuters — Australia and Indonesia on Wednesday said they would formally resume long-stalled negotiations aimed at sealing a bilateral trade agreement between the often uneasy neighbours within 18 months. Australian Trade Minister Steven Ciobo and Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Trikasih Lembong said in a joint statement talks would resume in May after a […] Read more
Peru lifts trade barriers to U.S. beef
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington, D.C. | Reuters — Peru has agreed to lift its remaining safety barriers to U.S. beef exports, further opening one of the fastest-growing markets in Latin America to U.S. ranchers, Obama administration officials said Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agreement with Lima will remove certification requirements […] Read more
How “free” is the free trade in agricultural equipment?
Canadian farm equipment manufacturing got a boost from free trade in 1944. What can we expect from today’s trade agreements?
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the last few years, we’ve heard a lot of passionate political speeches about so-called free trade agreements. It’s a topic that is really more than a century old in this country, going back as far as 1911 when the failed push for “Reciprocity” between Canada and the U.S. made headlines as a hot-button issue. […] Read more
Packers approved to move beef, pork to Ukraine
Reading Time: 2 minutes Inspectors have approved 15 Canadian beef and pork processing plants to export to Ukraine, more than doubling the number of Canadian meat plants able to ship to the country. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced Ukraine has, essentially, approved beef and pork exports from any Canadian federally-registered establishment […] Read more
Canada seen dawdling on TPP ratification
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada is set to hold back on ratifying a key Asia-Pacific trade treaty, a move that would assuage critics but might hamper Washington’s bid to build domestic support for the deal, according to sources close to the talks. Canada is one of 12 nations that initialed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early October, […] Read more
Colombia clears paper trail for more Canadian wheat
Reading Time: 2 minutes “Continuous engagement” has led to a lighter regulatory load on Canadian wheat bound for Colombia, already Canada’s seventh-biggest wheat export market. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and trade group Cereals Canada on Tuesday announced Colombia has eased phytosanitary import rules for Canadian wheat, “effectively putting Canada on a level playing field with other exporting countries.” Colombia’s […] Read more
Greece wants Canada-EU pact changed to protect ‘feta’ name
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — Athens will not back a multi-billion dollar trade pact between Canada and the European Union unless the deal is changed to specify that only Greece can use the term “feta” for its salty white cheese, according to a document seen by Reuters. After five years of difficult negotiations, Canada and the […] Read more
Secret deals for agricultural equipment regulations
Free trade with the EU is supposed to offer a chance to standardize ag equipment regulations, but the talks are behind closed doors, and the industry is getting worried
Reading Time: 5 minutes During Agritechnica 2013 in Hannover, Germany, I was invited to an informal dinner with some representatives of DLG, the German Agricultural Society, which organizes the show. I ended up sitting next to DLG’s agricultural economist, so it was a perfect opportunity to discuss a variety of topics affecting farmers on both sides of the Atlantic. […] Read more
Canada/Korea trade pact to kick in Jan. 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Legislators in both Canada and South Korea have ratified the two countries’ bilateral free trade deal to take effect next month. Canada’s Trade Minister Ed Fast on Wednesday announced the Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act has received royal assent just as the South Korean National Assembly has passed its Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
