Madison, Wisconsin/St. Claude, Manitoba | Reuters – Minnesota farmer Paul Fritsche can no longer afford health insurance as he struggles to sustain a dairy farm that has been in his family for nearly a century. With U.S. milk prices in the fourth year of a slump due to chronic oversupply, Fritsche, 58, is unsure whether […] Read more
U.S. dairy farmers get little help from Canada trade deal
U.S. seen likely to win in effort to shut down WTO’s appeals court
Geneva | Reuters — The United States is likely to succeed in shutting down the World Trade Organization’s supreme court because other WTO members are powerless to stop it, diplomats, lawyers and officials said at a conference in Geneva on Friday. The United States has blocked appointments of judges to the Appellate Body, throwing the […] Read more
The milk in the middle of the high-stakes NAFTA drama
A new milk category thrust dairy farmers into a political firestorm — so what is Class 7 all about?
Reading Time: 3 minutes It seemed like a win-win — until a new milk category caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump and unexpectedly became one of the key sticking points in NAFTA negotiations. It’s called Class 7, which is milk protein isolates (dried milk powders high in protein). It was introduced in 2016 in response to diafiltered […] Read more
U.S.-China talks on trade war resume as new tariffs kick in
Beijing/Washington | Reuters – The United States and China escalated their acrimonious trade war on Thursday, implementing punitive 25 percent tariffs on $16 billion worth of each other’s goods, even as mid-level officials from both sides resumed talks in Washington. The world’s two largest economies have now slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on a combined $100 billion of products […] Read more
China expects its U.S. agricultural imports to fall sharply
Beijing | Reuters – China’s imports of U.S. agricultural products will fall sharply once Beijing implements retaliatory trade measures and the country is able to cover its demand for cooking oil and animal feed, vice agriculture minister Han Jun said on Friday. The trade dispute will have a limited impact on China’s agriculture sector, but hit its U.S. counterparts […] Read more
China plans tariffs on $60 bln of U.S. goods in latest trade salvo
Beijing | Singapore | Reuters – China proposed retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods ranging from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to some aircraft on Friday, as a senior Chinese diplomat cast doubt on prospects of talks with Washington to solve their bitter trade conflict. The Trump administration tightened pressure for trade concessions from […] Read more
Trump says agreed with EU to work to lower trade barriers
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States and the European Union were kicking off talks aimed at lowering trade barriers as officials looked to head off a brewing trade war. “This was a very big day for free and fair trade, a very big day indeed,” Trump told […] Read more
World’s ‘affection’ for Canada will help in trade diversification: Carr
Ottawa | Reuters — There is “an awful lot of affection for Canada” around the world that will help the government’s push to diversify exports away from the United States, the country’s new trade minister said on Thursday, as ties with Washington become more strained. Winnipeg MP Jim Carr, previously the minister for natural resources, […] Read more
Firm, steady flax prices seen in the cards
CNS Canada — Farmers with flax in the ground should be pleased come autumn. Statistics Canada revised its seeded acreage estimate downward in late June and that, combined with lower carryout stocks and several other factors, should bring strong prices. “Given the demand in the market from China, the United States and potentially even the […] Read more
China signals to state giants: ‘Buy American’ oil and grains
Singapore/Beijing | Reuters –– China will import record volumes of U.S. oil and is likely to ship more U.S. soy after Beijing signalled to state-run refiners and grains purchasers they should buy more to help ease tensions between the two top economies, trade sources said on Wednesday. China pledged at the weekend to increase imports […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
