There’s a reluctance among the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) signatories to walk away from all the progress made with the deal, even though the United States has withdrawn its involvement with the deal. And while Claire Citeau, with the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, is disappointed with the TPP deal proper being hamstrung, she says last week’s meeting… Read more »
Category: CETA
Trudeau Playing the Trade File Perfectly at this Point
It was a great week for Canada in terms of trade on several fronts. You can say many negative things about Prime Minister Trudeau, but you cannot take away his government’s effort to extend Harper’s commitment to trade. There is much discussion and renegotiation to still happen, but the week of February 13th was very good for… Read more »
Trade Critic Ritz Still Expects “Cooler Heads Will Prevail” in Trump White House
Despite the protectionist rhetoric coming from President Trump, the trade critic for the federal Conservatives sounds hopeful — even optimistic — about Canada’s trading relationship with the United States. “It’s fine to say you want to put America first. It’s fine to say you want to create jobs at home, but at the end of… Read more »
Harvesting Prosperity From Seven Years of Negotiation
This is an editorial column written by Brian Innes, president of CAFTA (Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance): Threats to rip up NAFTA and trash the TPP send a chill down the spines of Canadians whose livelihoods depend on trade. And while the Trump administration’s action plan is not yet clear, it is crystal clear that Canada’s… Read more »
Ottawa Offering Dairy Sector $350 Million to Soften Impact from Canada-EU Trade Deal
The federal government is committing $350 million to helping the dairy sector adjust to increased import competition under the Canada-European Union trade deal (CETA). Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced two new programs at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa on Thursday. $250 million over five years will be made available to producers to update their… Read more »
Canadian Politics on Display: Sometimes You Just Need to Hug it Out
A photo surfaced yesterday showing former federal trade minister Ed Fast and current federal minister of international trade Chrystia Freeland sharing a full-on hug in the House of Commons at Ottawa. Wait a minute…how can this be? Fast is a Conservative with the former ruling government. Freeland is with the still-shiny-new current Liberal government. Aren’t they supposed… Read more »
Getting CETA Done — Ryan Heath’s View from Brussels
Just over a week after Canada’s Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland stormed out of trade talks uttering words like “impossible” and “incapable,” there she was with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday signing off on a final version of the massive agreement. The treaty now heads back to the governments of the 28 EU member states… Read more »
Farm Groups Welcome Signing of Canada-EU Deal
Canadian farm groups are welcoming the signing of the Canada-European Union trade deal on the weekend. Seven years after negotiations began, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Council President Donald Tusk, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) at a ceremony in Brussels on Sunday. “Seeing Canada’s largest… Read more »
Belgium Reaches Agreement to Support Canada-EU Trade Deal
It appears the Canada-European Union trade deal is back on track, as the Belgian government has reached a deal to support CETA. After days of negotiating, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel says they were able to reach an agreement with the region of Wallonia that provides guarantees for the agriculture sector and changes to the… Read more »
TPP Doesn’t Need the U.S. Anyway: Gerry Ritz
The stalling of the Canada-European Union trade deal has renewed discussion about Canada moving ahead on ratifying its participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership — even if the U.S. isn’t part of the deal. “If we’re going to take a timeout on CETA (the Canada-EU deal), why don’t we push to get TPP done? The Japanese will have it… Read more »
Canada-EU Deal “Impossible,” Says Trade Minister After Walking Out of Talks
Canada’s Minister of International Trade walked out of talks in Belgium on Friday, expressing despair over the chances of Canada and the European Union finalizing their trade deal. Chrystia Freeland is heading home without an agreement after three days of meetings with Belgian and European Leaders — less than a week before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was… Read more »
EU Commission Puts Canada-EU Trade Deal on Long Path to Approval
With questions being asked about the future of the Canada-Europe trade agreement following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, the EU has laid out its plan to approve the deal. The European Commission on Tuesday formally proposed to the Council of the EU the signature and conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement… Read more »
Liberals Commit to Dairy Compensation for Canada-EU Deal
Dairy Farmers of Canada is welcoming the federal government’s commitment to providing a compensation package to mitigate the impact of the Canada-EU trade deal. There have been questions about the Liberals’ plans for trade deal compensation after the Conservatives pledged a $4.3 billion program for the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors prior to their defeat… Read more »
Soy Canada Imploring EU to Act on GM Soybean Approvals
Soy Canada is calling on the European Union to move ahead with its decision on approval of three genetically modified soybean products and for an explanation of why it’s taken so long. Monsanto was planning to introduce one of these GM traits — Roundup Ready 2 Xtend and its stacked glyphosate and dicamba tolerance — to… Read more »
“Your Marching Orders, Minister MacAulay”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued his marching orders for his new cabinet. As part of his commitment to “open and transparent” government, the ministerial mandate letters are being shared publicly for the first time. All 30 letters were posted on the Prime Minister’s Office website on Friday, including a letter to Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of… Read more »