Updated, July 15 — The federal government has announced a pilot program that will make it easier for farms and food companies to maintain workers they recruit from around the world. Ahmed Hussen, minister for immigration, refugees and citizenship, announced the program Friday at Maple Leaf Foods in Mississauga. Why it matters: There’s a labour […] Read more
Agriculture foreign workers get new path to residency
USMCA dispute panel fix must be ‘across the board,’ Mexico says
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico sees a push to close a dispute resolution loophole in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal as a way to protect its interests as well as helping satisfy demands by U.S. Democrats that the deal contain stricter labour measures, a senior official said on Thursday. Reuters reported last week that Mexico […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: World wheat output seen lower than expected
MarketsFarm — Parts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) have “caught the trade off guard,” according to one trader. In its report, released Thursday, USDA significantly cut production volumes in Canada, Australia, Russia and Ukraine. In total, global wheat production was down 9.4 million tonnes, and stocks […] Read more
U.S., Canada, 14 others slam EU farm product regulation at WTO
Geneva | Reuters — The United States and 15 other countries launched a broadside of criticism at the European Union on Thursday, saying its “hazard-based” approach to regulating pesticides and other “critical tools” used by farmers was damaging livelihoods worldwide. Their statement, submitted to the World Trade Organization, said the EU’s approach created great uncertainty […] Read more
Canada proposes China meat export solution
Reuters — Canada offered a plan to reassure China about the security of its meat export system, a Canadian minister said on Wednesday, as Ottawa rejected Chinese criticism of its efforts to enlist allies to resolve a diplomatic dispute between the countries. China said last week it wanted the Canadian government to stop allowing meat […] Read more
Rookie U.S. House Democrats call for COOL revival
Several new members of the U.S. House of Representatives who’ve pressed for stronger language on labour and environmental standards in the revised North American free trade deal now also want it to include country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on meat. A letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, dated Tuesday and signed by 27 freshman House Democrats, […] Read more
Federal Tories critique lack of action on China
MarketsFarm — Federal Opposition House Leader Candice Bergen has publicly ripped the federal government’s lack of action to deal with rising barriers against Canada’s substantial ag exports to China. China halted imports of Canadian meat effective Tuesday, the latest on the list of Canadian products China has blacklisted since the December arrest of Huawei executive […] Read more
Canada says bogus certificates being used to smuggle meat into China
Ottawa | Reuters — Unknown actors are using bogus certificates to smuggle Canadian meat into China, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Wednesday, a day after Beijing halted beef and pork imports citing falsified paperwork. China, which has already blocked imports of Canadian canola seed and product from three pork plants, said on Tuesday it […] Read more
China halts Canadian meat shipments over bogus documents
Ottawa | Reuters — China said Tuesday it will turn away all meat shipped from Canada, just days before China and the United States sit down to work on settling a trade dispute that has also caught Canada in the crossfire. China launched an investigation after inspections found residues of ractopamine, a feed additive not […] Read more
Mexico becomes first country to ratify USMCA deal
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico on Wednesday became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) agreed late last year to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at the behest of U.S. President Donald Trump. By a vote of 114 in favour to four against, Mexico’s Senate backed the trade […] Read more