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

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

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

NAFTA negotiators hone in on origin rules, dispute settlement
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S., Canadian and Mexican negotiators on Friday began digging into some of the thorniest issues in modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement, including rules of origin for goods produced in the region, services trade and a controversial dispute settlement system. A copy of the NAFTA negotiating agenda obtained by Reuters […] Read more

If NAFTA ain’t broke, don’t fix it, pork sector says
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — As talks begin toward reworking the North American Free Trade Agreement, John Ross of the Canadian Pork Council repeats what many in the pork and beef industries in Canada and the U.S. have been saying all along: First, do no harm. “The worst thing that could happen to us was if we […] Read more

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

Canada suggests it could quit NAFTA talks over dispute mechanism
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada laid down a tough line ahead of talks on modernizing NAFTA on Monday, suggesting it could walk away if the U.S. pushed to remove a key dispute-settlement mechanism in the trade deal. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, giving the most substantive outline yet of Canada’s goals, said she was “very optimistic” […] Read more

Ahead of NAFTA talks, Canada says dispute mechanism essential
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — An effective dispute settlement mechanism is essential in any trade agreement, Canada’s foreign affairs minister said on Friday, less than a week before the first round of negotiations on the North American trade pact. Canada’s desire to include a dispute settlement mechanism in a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) […] Read more

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

NAFTA dispute resolution mechanism critical, Canada says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada believes it is critical for NAFTA to have a dispute resolution mechanism, a senior official said on Tuesday, setting up a potential clash with Washington when talks to renegotiate the pact begin. The U.S. on Monday released its goals for the talks, which aim to update an agreement that came […] Read more

U.S. makes lower trade deficit priority in NAFTA talks
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said […] Read more