Ottawa/Montreal | Reuters — With his political future at stake, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will mount a charm offensive to placate dairy farmers who say he sold them out in order to win approval of a continental trade deal. Compounding Trudeau’s challenges in the influential province of Quebec, where many dairy farmers are based, […] Read more
Trudeau takes Quebec dairy gamble to preserve big trade deal
Canada, U.S. deal saves NAFTA as trilateral pact
Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — The U.S. and Canada forged a last-gasp deal on Sunday to salvage NAFTA as a trilateral pact with Mexico, rescuing a three-country, US$1.2 trillion open-trade zone that had been about to collapse after nearly a quarter century. In a big victory for his agenda to shake up an era of global […] Read more
Canada, U.S. reach deal to update NAFTA, sources say
Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — The U.S. and Canada reached a deal to update NAFTA and keep it a trilateral pact with Mexico, beating a midnight deadline with agreements to boost U.S. access to Canada’s dairy market and protect Canada from possible U.S. autos tariffs, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of the talks said on […] Read more
Canada sticks to plan to stay at NAFTA talks despite Trump attack
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Thursday shrugged off U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism that talks to modernize NAFTA were moving too slowly and made clear it had to keep negotiating as long as there was a chance of success. The prospects for a quick deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement appeared […] Read more
Trump slams Canada over NAFTA, says rejected Trudeau meeting
United Nations | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted Canada over the slow pace of talks over NAFTA, saying he was so unhappy that he had rejected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request for a one-on-one meeting. The remarks by Trump, who repeated a threat to impose tariffs on Canadian autos, knocked […] Read more
Canada not making concessions needed for NAFTA deal, says U.S.
New York | Reuters — Canada is not making concessions needed to reach a deal with the U.S. for a trilateral NAFTA pact and is running out of time before Washington proceeds with a Mexico-only agreement, a top U.S. official said on Tuesday. The administration of President Donald Trump has recently begun increasing the pressure […] Read more
Agropur to shut Monteregie fine cheese plant
A Quebec cheese plant formerly known as a top maker of Camembert- and Brie-type cheeses is set to shut permanently in April after five years under Agropur’s ownership. Quebec-based Agropur, North America’s biggest dairy co-operative, announced Friday it will start winding down operations at its Saint-Damase cheese plant in January ahead of the April 2019 […] Read more
NAFTA talks grind on with little sign of deal
Washington | Reuters — Canada and the U.S. showed scant sign of being close to striking a deal on revamping the trilateral NAFTA that underpins US$1.2 trillion in annual trade, as Canadian sources played down talk of a U.S. quota on autos. Canada says it does not feel bound by a U.S.-imposed deadline for the […] Read more
Trudeau urges some U.S. flexibility in NAFTA talks
Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday he wanted to see flexibility from the U.S. if the two sides are to reach a deal on renewing NAFTA, which Washington insists must be finished by the end of the month. Ottawa is pushing back against increasing pressure by the administration of […] Read more
‘Buyer beware’ on Canada’s cheese concessions, EU exporters say
Toronto/Brussels | Reuters — A trade deal meant to give European cheesemakers more access to the Canadian market is falling short of its promise in its first full year, government data show, frustrating the European industry, which blames a year-old Ottawa quota system. Under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, […] Read more