Mexico City | Reuters — The United States has dropped a contentious demand from the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement to impose restrictions on Mexican agricultural exports, Mexico’s top farm lobby said on Sunday. Talks to rework the 24-year-old pact are entering a crucial phase and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said […] Read more

U.S. drops ag demand from NAFTA talks, Mexico farm lobby says

U.S. livestock: Hogs up, cattle firm on hopes for Mexico deal
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog and cattle futures rose on Friday, boosted by hopes that a trade agreement with Mexico will be finalized in the coming days, traders said. Mexico’s economy minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday he hopes to conclude by the middle of next week outstanding bilateral issues with the U.S. surrounding […] Read more

NAFTA teams ready to ‘start solving’ stalled issues, Mexico says
Washington | Reuters — Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday that the negotiating teams for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are ready to kick off talks again after they stalled last month. NAFTA talks between the U.S., Mexico and Canada had stalled since June when the U.S. imposed tariffs on Mexican […] Read more

Mexico, Canada insist on three-way NAFTA deal
Mexico City | Reuters — Canadian and Mexican officials insisted that the North American Free Trade Agreement remain a trilateral pact on Wednesday and reiterated their opposition to U.S. calls for a so-called “sunset clause” that could end the deal after five years. After a meeting in Mexico City, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and […] Read more

Beef, eggs, feed fatten Cargill’s profits
Chicago | Reuters — Strong global demand for beef and animal feed fattened grain trader Cargill’s profits in fiscal year 2018, which were also boosted by trade tensions and South American weather woes, the company said on Thursday. For the full year, adjusted operating earnings reached $3.2 billion, up six per cent from fiscal 2017 […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hogs extend declines on demand worries
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell over three per cent on Monday, weighed down by plentiful supplies and worries of weaker demand later this year due to tariffs on imports of American pork in Mexico and Canada, traders and analysts said. Most-active Chicago Mercantile Exchange August hogs sank 2.65 cents to 72.775 […] Read more

Trade uncertainty hitting canary seed markets
CNS Canada — July is usually when Canadian canary seed prices weaken as producers dump unsold product onto the market — but this year that might not happen as trade uncertainty around the world affects the markets. “We tend to see weakness in July and then strength in the fall, but I don’t know if […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Surging cash prices, easing trade fears boost CME hogs
Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed higher on Friday fueled by rising prices for market-ready, or cash, hogs and less concern about U.S. pork trade with Mexico, said traders. On Thursday the Mexican government said it would allow some U.S. pork into the country duty-free under an import quota despite retaliatory […] 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