Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s just what they hoped for — or not as bad as they feared. News of a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was cheered by export-focused farm groups while getting a ‘it could have been worse’ reaction from many in the supply management sector. “This is really fantastic news for Canada’s beef producers,” said […] Read more

TPP trade deal to impact Alberta
Livestock, canola and grain producers say it’s a big win, but supply management will see its market share shrink

Van Camp: Olive branches offered through new gaps in tariff wall
What do you get when you mix milk and eggs with a looming election? A “free” trade deal that gained major market access in Asia for Canada, but managed to keeps the tariffs for Canada’s supply-managed commodities. After all the barking from New Zealand, cows parading on Parliament Hill, tweets, heart-wrenching videos on Facebook, election […] Read more

U.S. hopes to release TPP text in 30 days
Reuters — The U.S. administration hopes to release the full text of a Pacific trade deal within the next 30 days, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said in an interview with CNN. The U.S. sealed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with 11 trading partners this week, after more than five years of negotiations. “The lawyers are […] Read more

Critics see TPP as edge of wedge for U.S. milk
A U.S. dairy sector economist is the latest observer to suggest Canada’s concessions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership may eventually lead to more imports of U.S. milk than Ottawa bargained for. Ag economist Andrew Novakovic of New York’s Cornell University said in a release that the TPP, for U.S. producers, marks a major opportunity in Canada’s […] Read more

Clinton says she doesn’t support new TPP deal
Reuters — U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she does not support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), rejecting a central tenet of President Barack Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia. Clinton said during a campaign swing in Iowa that she is worried about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement and that “pharmaceutical […] Read more

Historic TPP deal faces skeptics in U.S. Congress
Atlanta | Reuters –– Twelve Pacific Rim countries on Monday reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalize commerce in 40 per cent of the world’s economy in a deal that faces skepticism from U.S. lawmakers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact struck in Atlanta after marathon talks could reshape industries, change […] Read more

Dawson: Ag exporters applaud historic TPP deal
Export-oriented Canadian farmers are giving the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement reached in Atlanta on Monday two thumbs up. The deal, which remains to be debated in Canada’s House of Commons and could take more than a year to be ratified by all 12 member countries, will see tariffs on Canadian products in those markets eliminated […] Read more

VanRaes: TPP deal seen shrinking supply-managed markets
CORRECTION, Oct. 7: Canada’s supply managed sectors can expect to lose $4.3 billion to foreign interests in the 15 years following the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After years of negotiations, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S. and Vietnam reached an agreement Monday morning, which includes granting access […] Read more

Election shifts attention to trade deal as race narrows
Ottawa | Reuters –– Trailing in second place with two weeks left before Canada’s election, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a new trade deal Monday that largely protects the key agricultural voting bloc, putting pressure on opponents who had hoped to have more to attack. Harper touted the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a good deal […] Read more

Canada says TPP offers limited access to dairy market
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada said on Monday that a major trade deal agreed by 12 Pacific nations would only allow limited access to protected Canadian domestic dairy and poultry markets, a politically sensitive issue ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Officials said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would offer up just 3.25 per cent of […] Read more