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U.S. shuns free trade agreements

Senators rake the U.S. Trade Representative over the coals for the Biden administration’s trade policy agenda

Virginia Houston, director of government affairs with the American Soybean Association, says president Joe Biden’s administration feels FTAs pit U.S. domestic industries against one another.


Steak and kidney pie.

Canadian meat lobby says no deal better than bad deal

U.K. wants to have its cake and eat it too, meat lobby groups say

Reading Time: 4 minutes A trio of Canadian meat associations says no deal is better than a bad deal when it comes to trade. They’re protesting in advance of the United Kingdom’s acceptance into the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The “Say ‘no’ to a bad deal” campaign implores the federal government to delay approving the U.K.’s acceptance […] Read more


Corn in progress just east of Blumenort, Man. on July 20, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Canada reported seeking formal talks with Mexico on GMO rule

U.S. already seeking similar talks

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada has asked for formal consultations with Mexico over its restrictions on genetically modified (GM) agricultural imports under the North American free-trade agreement, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Canada requested the talks on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg, a day after the U.S. requested formal trade consultations […] Read more

Around 20 per cent of Mexico’s corn imports from the U.S. are white corn, used to make food products such as tortillas. (Bhofack2/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. demands formal trade talks with Mexico over GMO corn dispute

U.S. says new rules a breach of CUSMA

Chicago/Washington | Reuters — The United States requested formal trade consultations with Mexico on Monday over U.S. objections to its southern neighbour’s plans to limit imports of genetically modified corn and other agricultural biotechnology products. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the request for technical talks after months of informal discussions with Mexican officials over […] Read more


File photo of fresh cherries purchased from an orchard’s roadside stand at Penticton, B.C. (Amy Mitchell/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. cherries cleared for export to Korea

Canada-Korea free trade pact a step ahead on lower tariffs

Canada’s seven-year-old free trade pact with South Korea already provides for reduced tariffs on cherries from British Columbia — a commodity that’s just been approved for export to Korea for the first time starting this month. Canadian agriculture and food safety officials announced Aug. 10 that talks with Seoul on import rules and certifications had […] Read more

A container terminal at the Port of Vancouver. (FangXiaNuo/E+/Canada)

A tale of two trade agreements

The TPP deal soars, the EU deal stalls

Asian and Pacific nations are snapping up our beef while EU roadblocks persist

Reading Time: 5 minutes When it comes to Canada’s two big foreign trade deals, the difference for beef producers is night and day — one is putting money in their pockets and the other has mostly been an exercise in frustration. In just the first two years of the three-year-old Trans-Pacific trade deal, member nations upped their buys of […] Read more



Canada’s Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (l-r) meet with media July 11 in Kyiv. (PMO photo by Adam Scotti)

Ukraine free trade deal signed, goes to vote

A free trade agreement between Canada and Ukraine that’s expected to benefit Canada’s livestock sectors, among others, goes to the two countries’ parliaments for approval after its signing Monday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland signed the Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement (CUFTA) Monday in Kyiv. CUFTA negotiations wrapped last July under the […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Korea’s temporary ban on Canadian beef lifted

South Korea’s temporary ban on imports of Canadian beef and veal, imposed after Canada’s discovery of a 19th case of BSE in February, has been lifted as of Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the Korean government’s decision Thursday. South Korea had re-imposed its ban on Canadian beef after the […] Read more

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper meet at Meech Lake’s Willson House at Chelsea, Que. on Tuesday. (Deb Ransom photo courtesy PMO)

Talks wrap on Canada/Ukraine free trade pact

Canada’s crop and livestock producers expect to benefit soon from a free trade agreement with Ukraine, on which the two countries’ governments have now formally completed talks. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Tuesday, during a visit from Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, that trade negotiations between the two countries wrapped up in Kiev on July 9, and […] Read more