Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The Trump administration, Mexico and U.S. Democrats on Monday closed in on a deal for labour-related changes to a languishing North American trade pact that may soon allow it to proceed to a vote, as the window for passage this year quickly narrows. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and White […] Read more
Freeland, U.S. and Mexican officials to meet to pin down trade deal
A ‘little more work’ needed on CUSMA deal, Trudeau says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said a little more work needed to be done on a new continental trade deal which has run into opposition from some U.S. Democrats over labour and environmental provisions. Officials are trying to agree on a series of tweaks to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Impeachment process stifles markets
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings have dominated headlines and stalled progress in numerous trade developments, leaving the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) starved of meaningful news. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) has yet to be ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives. The trade pact, meant to replace the North American Free Trade […] Read more
Liberals pledge revamp of federal farm lender
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal Liberals’ platform heading into the Oct. 21 election calls for an “expanded and enhanced” role for Farm Credit Canada in supporting the country’s agriculture and agrifood sectors. Platform documents released Sunday last week (Sept. 29) call for the merger of several existing federal financial and advisory services — which the Liberals said are […] Read more
Trump says impeachment inquiry could derail North America trade deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday that an impeachment inquiry against him could derail congressional approval of a North America trade pact, dragging down Mexico’s peso and stock market as investors fled riskier assets. While U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he was confident the U.S-Mexico-Canada trade agreement would […] Read more
Alberta to lift residency rule for public grazing lands
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta government plans to remove a restriction on non-Albertans’ use of public lands for grazing, in a bid to smooth out paths for interprovincial trade. The province on Saturday announced it will do away with eight of its declared exceptions under the interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Of the eight, three deal with […] Read more
Dairy payments to be based on quota at Aug. 31
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian dairy farmers’ piece of the first year of a federal free trade compensation package is going to be based on quota they held at the end of last month. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada on Sept. 6 announced more details for what’s been dubbed the Dairy Direct Payment Program, though a registration period hasn’t yet […] Read more
Supply-managed sector compensation details due before election
Reading Time: 3 minutes Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has pledged to lay out details on trade pact compensation for supply-managed sectors before the federal election in October. The pledge comes as the federal Liberals face pressure from supply-managed sectors and the federal opposition Conservatives to deliver on compensation for access granted to the Canadian market under Canada’s free […] Read more
USMCA dispute panel fix must be ‘across the board,’ Mexico says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico sees a push to close a dispute resolution loophole in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal as a way to protect its interests as well as helping satisfy demands by U.S. Democrats that the deal contain stricter labour measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Mexico […] Read more
Mexico becomes first country to ratify USMCA deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 114 in favour to four against, Mexico’s Senate backed the trade […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
