Reuters — Canada agreed with the U.S. on Thursday that slow-moving talks to update NAFTA should continue, although they did not set a date for the next round, a senior official said in remarks casting further doubt on the chances of a deal this year. Negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement started […] Read more

Canada says agreed with U.S. to keep NAFTA alive, no talks set

Canada’s dairy farmers cling to protections as Trump demands concessions
Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Canadian dairy farmers want trade negotiators to keep their hands off the protected sector in increasingly contentious talks with the United States, however loudly U.S. President Donald Trump demands greater access, an executive with Canada’s biggest dairy lobby group said Monday. The sector, worth $21 billion in farm and processed dairy […] Read more

Trump’s tweets spew ire on Trudeau, EU, NATO
Singapore | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump fired off a volley of tweets on Monday venting anger on NATO allies, the European Union and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the wake of a divisive G7 meeting over the weekend. The escalating clash over trade between Washington and some of its closest global partners […] Read more

Over 14 per cent of U.S. farm exports seen at risk in trade disputes
Des Moines | Reuters — More than 14 per cent of US$140 billion in annual U.S. farm exports have been or are likely to be hit by retaliatory tariffs in trade disputes with countries such as China and Mexico, a top U.S. trade negotiator said on Thursday. Mexico imposed tariffs on U,S, products ranging from […] Read more

Mexico hits back on U.S. steel, slaps tariffs on pork, bourbon
Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico responded in kind to U.S. President Donald Trump’s metals tariffs by imposing its own duties on U.S. steel on Tuesday, while also targeting politically sensitive agricultural products from pork to bourbon. Mexico’s peso tumbled to its weakest level since February 2017, leading losses among major currencies due to the […] Read more

Freeland to visit Washington this week for NAFTA talks
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will visit Washington this week in another bid to help unblock talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, a spokesman said on Monday. Freeland will be in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, said spokesman Adam Austen. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are struggling to […] Read more

Canada says NAFTA officials in constant contact on trade talks
Ottawa | Reuters — Top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials are in constant contact about slow-moving talks to revitalize NAFTA and are ready to meet at any time to push the process forwards, Canada’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled as Canada and Mexico try […] Read more

NAFTA nations ‘nowhere near’ a deal, USTR says
Washington/New York | Reuters — The top U.S. trade official on Thursday poured cold water on the prospect of an imminent breakthrough in talks to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) hours after Canada’s prime minister struck a positive note. “The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” U.S. Trade Representative […] Read more

NAFTA ‘hot topics’ said unresolved as deal deadline looms
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues in a new NAFTA trade deal appear to have been resolved, diminishing chances of meeting a Thursday deadline to notify U.S. lawmakers of an agreement. If the notification is not sent by Thursday, U.S. House Speaker Paul […] Read more

Negotiators fail to reach NAFTA deal
Washington | Reuters — Senior U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials on Friday ended a week of talks without a deal to modernize NAFTA, agreeing instead to resume negotiations soon, ahead of a deadline next week issued by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. The failure to secure a quick deal underscores uncertainty over the […] Read more