(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Sharp differences over labour surface at NAFTA trade talks

Reading Time: 3 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Tensions over sharp differences in pay between Mexican workers and their Canadian and U.S. counterparts surfaced on Sunday as negotiators discussed labour market rules in talks to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement. Canada’s biggest private-sector union said NAFTA should be scrapped if Mexico cannot agree to better labour […] Read more

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks Aug. 23, 2017 at a Montreal charity event. (PM.gc.ca)

NAFTA talks resume in Mexico City

Reading Time: 3 minutes Mexico City | Reuters — Trade negotiators from Canada and the U.S. gathered under rainy skies in Mexico City on Friday to discuss the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the mood darkened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to pull out. Teams from the three countries were due to kick off a second […] Read more


Closeup of the flags of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA members on textile texture. NAFTA is the world's largest trade bloc and the member countries are Canada, United States and Mexico. 3D rendering with detailed textured grunge effect on closeup.

Farm groups want modernized NAFTA

Farm groups from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. are calling for key reforms

Reading Time: 3 minutes NAFTA should be modernized through five significant reforms rather than dismantled, say national farm organizations from Canada, the United States and Mexico. Agriculture represents one of NAFTA’s biggest success stories, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the American Farm Bureau and Consejo Nacional Agropecuario said in a joint letter to the leaders of the three countries. […] Read more

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at Fort Myer, Va. on Aug. 21, 2017. (Video screengrab from WhiteHouse.gov)

Mexico, Canada dismiss Trump threats to scrap NAFTA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico City/Ottawa | Reuters — Mexico and Canada on Wednesday dismissed U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to scrap NAFTA, describing it as a negotiating tactic designed to gain an advantage during talks to update one of the world’s biggest trading blocs. In comments that initially pushed Mexico’s peso currency down by more than one per […] Read more


(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

U.S. takes tough lines as NAFTA negotiations begin

Reading Time: 4 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States drew a hard line for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday, demanding major concessions aimed at slashing U.S. trade deficits with Mexico and Canada and boosting U.S. content for autos. At the start of talks in Washington, U.S. President Donald Trump’s top trade adviser, Robert […] Read more

(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Canada, Mexico urge quick NAFTA talks to end uncertainty

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Top Canadian and Mexican diplomats expressed optimism on Thursday that a NAFTA deal could be reached early next year and cautioned that widespread uncertainty over the future of the three-way trade agreement had slowed business investment. Mexican sources say the plan is to hold seven rounds of talks at three-week intervals, […] Read more


A rail line in Aguas Calientes, Peru. (CIA.gov)

Pacific trade bloc adds ‘associate’ members, including Canada

Reading Time: 2 minutes Cali, Colombia | Reuters –– Four new countries will be admitted to the Pacific Alliance as associate members, the trade group said on Thursday, as it seeks to expand commerce with the Asia-Pacific region while the U.S. pushes for protectionist measures. The alliance, which comprises Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru, will on Friday admit Singapore, […] Read more

DuPont’s headquarters in Delaware. (DuPont.com)

Mexico gives conditional approval to Dow, DuPont merger

Reading Time: < 1 minute Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday it has given approval to DuPont and Dow Chemical to merge on the condition that they sell certain crop protection products and other assets. The asset sales required by Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (Cofece) is similar to what U.S. antitrust enforcers asked of the […] Read more


(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Trump administration triggers launch of NAFTA renegotiations

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration on Thursday formally launched its effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico to try to win better terms for U.S. workers and manufacturers. With a letter to U.S. lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he triggered a 90-day consultation period with […] Read more

(Dave Clark photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. grains: Corn tumbles on weather forecasts, NAFTA jitters

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. corn futures fell more than one per cent Wednesday on forecasts for better Midwest planting weather and news that the White House is considering an executive order on withdrawing from North American Free Trade Agreement, analysts said. Soybeans also declined and wheat turned lower as corn sagged. Chicago Board of […] Read more