Reading Time: 3 minutes Representatives from the largest pork-exporting states in the U.S. happened to find themselves at a Manitoba pork meeting days after China announced it was slapping tariffs on U.S. pork. They were as confused, and worried, as everyone else about what was coming next. “The marketplace is obviously reacting, but it’s important for us to take […] Read more
VIEW FROM THE SOUTH: Bet on China goes bad
Chinese buying prompted U.S. hog and soybean farmers to ramp up production that’s now looking for a home
Steel tariffs could rebound on farmers here
It’s not clear what impact tariffs will have on farm equipment but any increase will likely be passed on
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s unclear if the new steel tariff proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump could be bad news for Canadian producers when it comes time to buy new farm equipment. If the tariffs are imposed, U.S. manufacturing companies would pay 25 per cent more for imported steel and 10 per cent more for imported aluminum, unless […] Read more
Adapt to the new world order, says Stephen Harper
Globalization foes are just getting started, but free traders can thrive if they adapt
Reading Time: 4 minutes He was enthusiastically welcomed as the prime minister who scrapped the wheat board, earning a standing ovation before the first word of his keynote address. But Stephen Harper had his eyes on an even bigger farm issue when he spoke to an enthusiastic crowd of nearly all of FarmTech’s 2,000 attendees. In a sweeping political […] Read more
TPP countries agree to keep trade deal alive, much work remains
Vietnam | Reuters – Members of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreed to continue working on the proposed trade deal despite early Canadian resistance in talks that had raised new doubts about its survival, officials said. According to a draft of the final statement seen by Reuters and due to be released on Saturday in […] Read more
Don’t write NAFTA’s obituary just yet
‘Absurd’ demands have heightened fears that President Trump aims to kill the trade pact, but experts say that’s premature
Reading Time: 4 minutes Stay calm and keep negotiating’ seems to be the mantra of Canadian farm groups even as a growing number of experts warn NAFTA may be doomed. U.S. negotiators dropped a series of bombshells in the fourth round of talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement — demands that Canada and Mexico had said […] Read more
Trump has been good for agriculture, says top U.S. cattle official
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the U.S. president is ‘getting a lot of stuff done for agriculture’
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to agriculture, President Donald Trump is doing a crackerjack job, says a senior official with the top U.S. cattle association. “If you listen to the media, it’s nothing but conversations about Russia, South Korea and the overall general hatred for people who just don’t like Donald Trump,” said Colin Woodall, senior vice-president […] Read more
Ag ministers on NAFTA: ‘If it ain’t broke…’
Donald Trump may not like NAFTA, but his new agriculture secretary doesn’t seem too fussed about it
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Canadian, American and Mexican agriculture ministers got together last month in Savannah, Georgia, they weren’t there to discuss what U.S. President Donald Trump has described as “worst trade deal in the history of the world.” On the contrary, they talked about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as though it was about the […] Read more
Alberta dairy producers concerned but calm over threats, says farm leader
Alberta Milk takes attacks from U.S. president seriously but its members aren’t panicking, says group’s chair
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta dairy producers take President Donald Trump’s threats against Canadian dairy seriously, but they aren’t in a panic, says the chair of Alberta Milk. “I think we need to take this threat seriously because what we’re seeing from the U.S. administration is an administration that is unpredictable,” said Tom Kootstra, who farms near Ponoka. The […] Read more
Trump wins support for possible WTO action on Canada dairy
Reuters – Australia and New Zealand dairy industry leaders say they would support moves by the United States to draw the World Trade Organization into a trade dispute with Canada, after President Donald Trump said existing rules were unfair. On a visit to the U.S. cheese-making state of Wisconsin on April 18, Trump said he […] Read more
Uncertainty is the name of the game in a Trump regime
As America heads down a protectionist path, Canada could be left grappling with a border adjustment tax and the return of COOL
Reading Time: 2 minutes In Chuck Penner’s mind, there’s no doubt that Trump’s presidency adds complexity to markets. “The difficulty is the unpredictability of it — it’s gonna be big,” said the market analyst and founder of LeftField Commodity Research. “We just don’t know how things are going to shake out. “The media has no shortage of stories to […] Read more
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