Reading Time: 6 minutes In the past 25 years, agriculture has seen a full gamut of new programs from environmental farm plans to neonicotinoid-use restrictions in Ontario. Some are relatively farm friendly, some less so. Like them or hate them, they’re all meant to be in the name of sustainability, traceability and food safety and security, which are under […] Read more
Another big hurdle for Canadian producers
With MRLs, the problems begin when a test used for regulating trade gets treated as a verdict on food safety
TPP study sees net ‘neutral’ effect on dairy sector
Reading Time: 4 minutes An economic impact study on Canada’s participation in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal finds losses in Canada’s dairy sector would be “offset” by gains for dairy processors from cheaper dairy imports. The study, prepared for the federal government by its Office of the Chief Economist and released Friday, notes Canada has offered expanded access […] Read more
Chile plans to send TPP deal to Congress this year
Reading Time: < 1 minute Santiago | Reuters — The Chilean government is expecting to send the Pacific trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to its Congress for approval by the end of 2016, President Michelle Bachelet said Thursday. The 12-nation TPP aims to liberalize commerce in 40 per cent of the world’s economy, but its future is […] Read more
Their quota of doubt
TPP may not have opened the floodgates, but it will let in enough imports to alter the outlook for Canada’s dairy farmers
Reading Time: 5 minutes It would have taken a lot more than a butter knife to cut the tension on dairy farms across Canada this past year while the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators were talking behind closed doors. So now that the deal is out in the open, and now that it appears — at least on the surface […] Read more
What will the TPP mean for your farm?
AME Management: Overall, Canadian farmers get increased market access from TPP, plus better dispute settlement
Reading Time: 3 minutes The October 2015 Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is a substantial trade treaty for its 12 members, and like other trade treaties, it will introduce concessions on market access, such as tariff reductions and increased import quotas, as discussed below. But there is also considerable focus on food safety regulations as well as on biotechnology […] Read more
Peru lifts trade barriers to U.S. beef
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington, D.C. | Reuters — Peru has agreed to lift its remaining safety barriers to U.S. beef exports, further opening one of the fastest-growing markets in Latin America to U.S. ranchers, Obama administration officials said Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the agreement with Lima will remove certification requirements […] Read more
Maximum residue levels an issue that’s coming to a head
New trade agreements should be good for horticultural product exports, but fuzzy rules around MRLs could become non-tariff barriers
Reading Time: 5 minutes Mention maximum residue levels (MRLs) to a grower or a chemical company representative, and you’re likely to receive a frustrated response. In spite of trade deals between continental jurisdictions, the MRL issue continues to be a stick in the cogs of the smooth operation of trade agreements. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Comprehensive Economic […] Read more
Agropur eyes further U.S. acquisitions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s second-biggest dairy, Agropur Co-operative, said it is looking to grow in the U.S., possibly through acquisitions, in the face of an expected erosion of its market share at home due to recent international trade deals. Agropur, whose brands include Iogo yogurt and Oka cheese, and larger rival Saputo have already built U.S. […] Read more
Canada signs Trans-Pacific Partnership
Reading Time: 3 minutes Trade ministers from the 12 countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership have signed their trade agreement, committing them to take the deal to their home governments for review and/or approval. The deal, which Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed on Canada’s behalf on Thursday in Auckland, New Zealand, is expected to see tariffs on Canadian products in […] Read more
Canada to sign TPP, but undecided on ratification
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s new Liberal government will take the “technical step” of signing a 12-nation trade deal next week but has not yet decided whether to formally ratify the agreement, Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland said Monday. Canada is one of 12 nations that initialed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in early October after years […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
