Reading Time: 2 minutes Tokyo | Reuters — Japan has expressed concern about a loss of momentum in talks on a pan-Pacific trade pact, after participants failed to agree to meet again this month to try to clinch a deal that would cover 40 per cent of the global economy. Ministers from the 12 nations negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership […] Read more
Japan anxious at lull in Trans-Pacific trade talks
Dairy farmers milk politics of Pacific trade pact
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — New Zealand dairy farmers have a message for their Canadian counterparts, who worry a Pacific trade deal will throw them on the mercy of world markets and devastate their industry: It’s not so bad. But heavily protected Canadian farmers have reason for skepticism. A deadlock over dairy has emerged as one of the […] Read more
Japan wants N.Z. to make realistic offer on dairy goods
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tokyo | Reuters –– Japan wants New Zealand to offer realistic proposals on dairy products as part of 12-nation talks on a pan-Pacific trade agreement, a Japanese negotiator said Tuesday. Ministers failed last Friday to clinch a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal to free up trade after a dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan […] Read more
Megatrends versus Canada’s farms
Can your farm thrive over the next decade?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Global forces are transforming agriculture in this country. It barely takes a second for any farmer to rattle off a list, starting with world population that the UN says will jump by another billion over the next decade and reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Or smartphones that link us to the world from our tractor […] Read more
Trade ‘balancing act’ in focus at ag ministers’ meeting
Reading Time: 3 minutes With foreign governments urging Canada to open up its protected dairy, poultry and egg markets, the country’s provincial agriculture ministers are unanimously counter-urging in supply management’s defense. Pressure from trading partners and strong regional support in principle for supply management are nothing new. But Canada’s annual ag ministers’ meeting, held this week in Charlottetown, wrapped […] Read more
U.S. said considering TPP trade deal without Canada
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The United States, frustrated over the lack of progress with Canada over new rules for agriculture trade, is weighing “contingencies” that could include completing a Pacific Rim trade pact that excludes Canada, according to two sources familiar with the issue. One official familiar with the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiation said […] Read more
Pitting supply management against U.S. subsidies seen as ‘unfair’
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — How will Canada’s supply management system stack up against America’s domestic supports if the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes to fruition? It’s a question that hasn’t been answered, say some experts from Canada’s farming institutions. “It would be completely unfair if we have to compete with lower prices, because those lower prices are […] Read more
Dairy farmers worry Trans-Pacific trade deal could hurt
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s powerful dairy industry on Friday expressed concern it could suffer if talks to create a Pacific trade treaty open up heavily protected Canadian markets to more foreign competition. Some of the 12 nations taking part in negotiations on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) want Canada to start dismantling a system known […] Read more
Canada must be part of TPP, will defend farmers: Harper
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada must join a proposed Pacific trade pact but will strive to protect farmers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday, referring to foreign pressure to scrap tariffs that protect the dairy industry. Some of the 12 nations taking part in talks on a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) want Canada to start dismantling […] Read more
U.S. Congress victory may move Pacific trade pact forward
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters –– U.S. lawmakers approved legislation key to securing a hallmark Pacific trade deal by a comfortable margin on Wednesday, advancing President Barack Obama’s efforts to strengthen U.S. economic ties with Asia. After a six-week congressional battle including two brushes with failure, some fancy legislative footwork and myriad backroom deals to keep the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
