Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Top NAFTA negotiators from Canada and the U.S. increased the pace of their negotiations Thursday to resolve final differences to meet a Friday deadline, with their Mexican counterpart on standby to rejoin the talks soon. Despite some contentious issues still on the table, the increasingly positive tone contrasted with U.S. President […] Read more
Canada, U.S. push toward NAFTA deal by Friday
U.S. grains: Soy, corn hit six-week lows on record crop prospects
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean and corn futures fell to six-week lows Monday on expectations of large U.S. crops and fears that hog disease in China might hurt demand for feed, analysts said. Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures also declined, sliding for a sixth session. CBOT November soybeans settled down seven cents at […] Read more
China’s July grain imports plunge as tariffs on U.S. supplies bite
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters – China’s grain imports plunged in July after Beijing imposed hefty tariffs on shipments from the United States as part of its trade conflict and as rising international prices curbed buying, customs data showed on Thursday. China brought in 220,000 tonnes of sorghum in July, down 62.5 percent from 588,364 tonnes a year ago, data from […] Read more
U.S.-China talks on trade war resume as new tariffs kick in
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing/Washington | Reuters – The United States and China escalated their acrimonious trade war on Thursday, implementing punitive 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods, even as mid-level officials from both sides resumed talks in Washington. The world’s two largest economies have now slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on a combined $100 billion of products […] Read more
Tariff relief for Canada’s farmers at issue in Quebec election
Reading Time: 2 minutes Montreal |Reuters – Quebec farmers want further relief from a global tariff dispute ahead of Oct. 1 elections in the mostly French-speaking Canadian province, which has seen a recent rise in nationalist sentiment. Quebec’s ruling Liberals, centrists but separate from the federal Liberal party, launched their campaign on Thursday. They trail in polls behind the center-right Coalition Avenir Quebec […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat tops one-week high on Russia export concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures jumped to their highest prices in more than a week on Friday on concerns that top-exporter Russia may curb grain exports, traders said. Russia will consider restricting 2018-19 shipments once they reach 30 million tonnes, following a request from meat-producing regions, according to traders who met with the […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy climbs as U.S., China plan to restart trade talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures climbed to one-week highs on Thursday as plans for Beijing and Washington to hold fresh trade talks raised hopes for U.S. soy sales to China after being stalled by a tariff dispute. The rally in soybeans also helped wheat and corn futures rise, traders said, after China’s Ministry […] Read more
Quebec offers aid to lessen brunt of U.S. tariffs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Montreal | Reuters — The Quebec government on Wednesday said it would spend $863 million over five years to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs on companies and the province’s agriculture sector. The plan would provide direct financial aid to some companies affected by the tariffs and would support investments to improve productivity, worker training […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy up from three-week low as record harvest looms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures turned higher on Monday after touching their lowest levels in over three weeks on expectations that domestic inventories will pile up due to a record harvest and the ongoing trade dispute with Beijing. Prices recovered from a 4.7 per cent selloff on Friday that was ignited by a […] Read more
China expects its U.S. agricultural imports to fall sharply
Reading Time: < 1 minute Beijing | Reuters – China’s imports of U.S. agricultural products will fall sharply once Beijing implements retaliatory trade measures and the country is able to cover its demand for cooking oil and animal feed, vice agriculture minister Han Jun said on Friday. The trade dispute will have a limited impact on China’s agriculture sector, but hit its U.S. counterparts […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
