Reading Time: 3 minutes John Weekes stressed how important international cooperation is to beneficial trade agreements in a talk given to the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN).

Former trade negotiator says Canada must find new markets

Building their Canadian base
While the rest of us had our eyes turned south, Ukrainian manufacturer Losova used CUFTA to set up shop in Canada
Reading Time: 5 minutes If we’ve heard about NAFTA and USMCA once during the past 12 months, we’ve heard about them a million times, and for good reason. As the U.S. president’s rhetoric around the renegotiations heated up, the risk to established supply chains in virtually every manufacturing sector kept business executives up at night. Now, with a new […] Read more

Black swans
What will it take to knock Canada’s farmland market out of its holding pattern?
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian dollar “Excluding an extraordinary shock to production or commodity prices, a significant increase in the value of the Canadian dollar would have the biggest impact on the supply of farmland available for sale,” says Saskatchewan realtor Tim Hammond. A weak Canadian dollar is beneficial overall to Canadian farmers as they export the majority of […] Read more

Low loonie not good for farmers right now
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Usually when the Canadian dollar starts to drop lower than its U.S. counterpart it’s good for producers — but this time not so much. Along with the drop, commodity prices have also dropped. “Unfortunately I’m not so sure that what we’ve seen in terms of a decline in the Canadian dollar versus […] Read more

2018 in doubt
With the constant flow of inflammatory NAFTA headlines, it’s no wonder farmers are feeling more anxious and stressed than in years. Here’s what you can do about it
Reading Time: 8 minutes Hundreds of heads silently bobbed up and down as Canada’s 18th prime minister introduced the topic producers had gathered earlier this winter in Winnipeg to hear about — the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Act. “We will need to be extremely vigilant in safeguarding access to our most vital market and in resisting […] Read more

NAFTA indecision
Washington may be divided on NAFTA, but machinery manufacturers certainly know where they stand
Reading Time: 5 minutes Through mid-winter, the push from machinery executives for the U.S. government to reach a deal on NAFTA seemed to be gearing up. AEM (the Association of Equipment Manufacturers) was sending out that message even louder and clearer than it had been on behalf of its member companies in the ag and construction machinery sector. An […] Read more

At NAFTA talks, Canada hails jet case as victory for free trade
Reading Time: 3 minutes Montreal | Reuters — Canadian plane maker Bombardier won a major U.S. case on Friday, which government officials said showed the importance of free trade at a time when talks to modernize the NAFTA pact are moving slowly. A U.S. tribunal unexpectedly dismissed a complaint by Boeing against alleged dumping by Bombardier in the case […] Read more

Britain reported looking to NAFTA if Brexit deal fails
Reading Time: 2 minutes London | Reuters — Britain could join a formal trade alliance with the United States, Canada and Mexico if the European Union refuses to clinch a post-Brexit trade deal, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Tuesday. The newspaper said British ministers were looking at joining the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as part of […] Read more

‘Do no harm’
Canada’s supply-management farmers have three blunt words of advice for our NAFTA negotiating team
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s supply management sector is experiencing its usual trade-talk trepidation as the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement gets started. Even so, dairy and poultry farmers are relying on Ottawa’s assurances at meetings through the summer that the system of domestic price setting, and the high border tariffs that support it, will not […] Read more

Winning at the border
It may be Donald Trump who is re-opening NAFTA. But today, more farmers north of the border are seeing some solid wins for Canada
Reading Time: 8 minutes Ron Davidson calls in from a hotel room in Washington, D.C., with NAFTA on his mind. As senior vice-president of international trade and public affairs for the Canadian Meat Council, he’s no stranger to the U.S. capital. And with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in process, there are more cross-border trips […] Read more