Reading Time: < 1 minute The first round of tariff cuts under the Trans-Pacific Partnership came into effect Dec. 30, with the prohibitive Japanese tariff of 38.5 per cent dropping to 27.5 per cent on Canadian fresh beef and to 26.9 per cent on frozen beef. A second round of cuts saw Vietnamese tariffs fall on Jan. 14, and will […] Read more

Trans-Pacific tariffs start to fall

Pacific pact spurs Canadian ag sales to Japan as U.S. watches
Winnipeg | Reuters — At the Canadian embassy in Tokyo last month, beef promoters flew in a chef from Canada to cook New York strip steaks for hungry Japanese importers and restaurant suppliers. The annual Canadian beef buffet reception attracted 126 people, up sharply from the usual 30 to 40. A trade deal among Pacific […] Read more

Trade agreement a big deal for canola growers
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade accord comes as canola acreage poised to grow once again
Reading Time: 4 minutes The timing couldn’t be better. Tariffs on Canadian canola oil into Asia could be scrapped as early as January if the new Trans-Pacific trade deal goes into effect. And that’s good news as canola growers seem poised to boost acreage this coming spring. Canada ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) late […] Read more

CPTPP trade agreement ratified
Canada will be among the original six and will gain some benefit from moving early
The last domestic legislative hurdle to enacting the CPTPP trade deal with Pacific rim countries has been cleared. The deal was approved by senate and received Royal Assent the afternoon of Oct. 25. The moves makes Canada one of the first countries to ratify the 11 nation deal which comes into effect once the first […] Read more

Sources say Canada ready to offer dairy access in NAFTA talks
Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — Canada is ready to offer the U.S. limited access to the Canadian dairy market as a concession in negotiations to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement, two Canadian sources with direct knowledge of Ottawa’s negotiating strategy said on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump said at the White House that trade […] Read more

World’s ‘affection’ for Canada will help in trade diversification: Carr
Ottawa | Reuters — There is “an awful lot of affection for Canada” around the world that will help the government’s push to diversify exports away from the United States, the country’s new trade minister said on Thursday, as ties with Washington become more strained. Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, previously the minister for natural resources, […] Read more

U.S. to take another look at Pacific trade pact
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has asked his trade advisers to look at rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade pact he withdrew the U.S. from last year, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said. Republican senators met with Trump on Thursday and he told them that he has asked U.S. Trade Representative […] Read more

New chief acclaimed for national cattle producer group
A former president of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association is the new president of the national cattle producers’ body. David Haywood-Farmer was elected by acclamation as president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association at the group’s annual general meeting last week in Ottawa. Haywood-Farmer, a cow-calf producer at Savona, B.C., about 40 km west of Kamloops, was […] Read more

Asia-Pacific nations sign sweeping trade deal without U.S.
Santiago | Reuters — Eleven countries including Canada and Japan signed a landmark Asia-Pacific trade agreement without the U.S. on Thursday in what one minister called a powerful signal against protectionism and trade wars. The deal came as U.S. President Donald Trump vowed earlier in the day to press ahead with a plan to impose […] Read more

Final version of Trans-Pacific trade deal released
Wellington/Sydney | Reuters — The final version of a landmark deal aimed at cutting trade barriers in some of the Asia-Pacific’s fastest-growing economies was released on Wednesday, signalling the pact was a step closer to reality even without its star member the U.S. More than 20 provisions have been suspended or changed in the final […] Read more