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
U.S. makes lower trade deficit priority in NAFTA talks
U.S. proposes cutting biofuels requirements due to ‘market realities’
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — The U.S. government on Wednesday proposed reducing the volumes of biofuel required to be used in gasoline and diesel in 2018, in a move that could mark the first step towards a broader overhaul to the controversial energy policy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal marked a slight decline […] Read more
EU, Japan officials seal trade agreement
Reading Time: 3 minutes Brussels | Reuters — Japan and the European Union should agree on Thursday to a free trade pact that could be completed within months, after senior officials removed final snags to a political deal intended as a signal to U.S. President Donald Trump. “We ironed out the few remaining differences,” European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom […] Read more
Dairy protection sought ahead of NAFTA talks
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — The head of Canada’s dairy industry group highlighted the role of Canadian dairy producers in the domestic market, as the potential for trade agreement renegotiations loom. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier in the year he was considering pulling the U.S. from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but later shifted […] Read more
NAFTA agriculture ministers see ‘few’ differences over trade
Reading Time: < 1 minute Garden City, Ga. | Reuters — The U.S., Canada and Mexico have “relatively few” differences on agricultural trade, agriculture ministers from the three countries said in a joint statement after meeting Tuesday to discuss the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. However, some “irritants” are present for each country in the runup to […] Read more
U.S. farmers slam Trump’s Cuba clampdown
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm groups criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to retreat from his predecessor’s opening toward Cuba, saying it could derail huge increases in farm exports that totaled US$221 million last year. A trade delegation from Minnesota, one of the largest U.S. agriculture states, vowed to carry on with its planned visit […] Read more
The carbon tax
Farmers see themselves as the good guys in the carbon debate, with good reason. Is agriculture going to pay anyway?
Reading Time: 13 minutes It had been another frigid day in Manitoba, snow swirling as farmers and ranchers gathered at a downtown hotel, but once inside it didn’t take long for the temperature to rise. They’d gathered for Keystone Agricultural Producers annual general meeting, where one issue outpaced the rest — carbon pricing. It was standing room only, with […] Read more
U.S. farm groups oppose Trump’s cuts to ag spending
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm groups on Tuesday pushed back against President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash agriculture spending, viewing it as a fresh threat to a struggling farm economy. The White House on Monday proposed $46.54 billion in cuts to federal government funding for the agriculture sector over the next 10 years, including […] Read more
Trump administration triggers launch of NAFTA renegotiations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The Trump administration on Thursday formally launched its effort to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico to try to win better terms for U.S. workers and manufacturers. With a letter to U.S. lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he triggered a 90-day consultation period with […] Read more
Trump reassures farmers immigration crackdown not aimed at their workers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/San Francisco | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would seek to keep his tough immigration enforcement policies from harming the U.S. farm industry and its largely immigrant workforce, according to farmers and officials who met with him. At a roundtable on farm labour at the White House last month, Trump said he […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
