Washington | Reuters — China has agreed to significantly increase its purchases of U.S. goods and services, the two countries said Saturday, but made no mention of a US$200 billion target the White House had touted earlier. Beijing and Washington agreed they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and […] Read more
China agrees to import more ag commodities, fuels from U.S.
Canada taking U.S. to WTO in complaint over trade remedies
Geneva | Reuters — Canada has launched a wide-ranging trade dispute against the United States, challenging Washington’s use of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, Canada said in a WTO filing dated Dec. 20 and published on Wednesday. Canada appeared to be mounting a case on behalf of the rest of the world, since it cited almost […] Read more
Better trade deals coming for U.S. farmers, Trump says
In a 40-minute speech to the United States’ biggest farm organization, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about free trade for 49 seconds. In 120 words Trump told the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting Monday in Nashville he was working to get U.S. farmers better trade deals. “To level the playing field for our great […] Read more
Don’t write NAFTA’s obituary just yet
‘Absurd’ demands have heightened fears that President Trump aims to kill the trade pact, but experts say that’s premature
Reading Time: 4 minutes Stay calm and keep negotiating’ seems to be the mantra of Canadian farm groups even as a growing number of experts warn NAFTA may be doomed. U.S. negotiators dropped a series of bombshells in the fourth round of talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement — demands that Canada and Mexico had said […] Read more
Japan to propose changes to beef import safeguards in talks with U.S.
Tokyo | Reuters — Japan will propose changes to its safeguard mechanism on frozen U.S. beef imports that will shorten review periods and allow importers to voluntarily lower import volumes to prevent tariffs from automatically kicking in, two government sources said on Thursday. The proposal will be made at the second round of the U.S.-Japan […] Read more
China delays deadline for implementing food import rules
Beijing | Reuters — China plans to delay a deadline for implementing new food import regulations by two years until October 2019, a senior EU official said on Tuesday, following a lobbying effort by Europe and the U.S. amid concerns about disruption to trade. The extension comes just days before the new rules, which are […] Read more
WTO panel set up on China-U.S. row on grain import quotas
Geneva | Reuters — A World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel was set up Friday to rule on a U.S. complaint over Chinese import quotas on farm goods including wheat, rice and corn, a trade official said. The panel on tariff rate quotas (TRQs) for agricultural products was automatically established as it was the second […] Read more
U.S. seeks WTO dispute panel on China’s grain import quotas
Geneva | Reuters — The United States has requested a World Trade Organization panel be set up to investigate Chinese tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) for agricultural products, the WTO said on Monday, setting up a showdown between the two largest economies. The row, which includes tariffs for wheat, rice, and corn, was initiated under the Obama […] Read more
U.S., China agree to first trade steps under 100-day plan
Washington | Reuters –– The U.S. and China have agreed to take action by mid-July to increase access for U.S. financial firms and expand trade in beef and chicken among other steps as part of Washington’s drive to cut its trade deficit with Beijing. The deals are the first results of 100 days of trade […] Read more
Pacific trade pact nations meet to discuss future without U.S.
Ottawa | Reuters — Negotiators from the remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gathered in Canada on Tuesday seeking ways to boost free trade in the region after the U.S. pulled out of the 12-nation pact. The withdrawal killed off years of negotiations and left the region looking for ways to deepen economic ties […] Read more
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