The 11 remaining countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership met on the sidelines of Asia Pacific trade talks in Chile yesterday to discuss the future of the TPP now that the U.S. has withdrawn. “The participating partners reiterated their firm commitment to collaborate in keeping markets open and to the free flow of goods, services and… Read More
Category: TPP
These are busy times in the federal trade department, as Global Affairs Canada is acting on several key trade files. Trade Minister François-Philippe Champagne is in Chile this week to discuss the possibility of an Asia-Pacific trade deal now that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP.) Just last week, the department opened up… Read More
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
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, and Canada needs to move on to ‘plan B’ for increasing market access into Asia, according to Glen Hodgson, senior fellow with the Conference Board of Canada. “The Japanese are trying to keep it alive, but it’s effectively dead. I do think we should be developing a ‘plan B’ for Asia,… Read More
Calling this week’s meeting between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Trump a “pre-arranged first date in an organized marriage,” Conservative trade portfolio critic Gerry Ritz possibly came as close as we’ve heard to complementing the Prime Minister. “The first rule is ‘do no harm,’ and I think that’s exactly what happened. Nothing got done, but… Read More
It’s time for another episode of the Beef Market Update! Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko are fresh off their trip to Nashville and they have much to discuss. Canada has agreed that they will attend the the March “post-TPP” meeting in Chile with most of the other countries minus the United States. Also invited is… Read More
Last week at the National Cattleman’s Beef Association meeting in Nashville, I attended NCBA’s annual International Trade Committee meeting. With the all of the stir created by President Trump on NAFTA and TPP, the committee meeting on Friday afternoon could not have been more timely. One of the speakers was international trade lawyer Gary Horlick…. Read More
As officials left the recent trilateral meeting between Canada, United States, and Mexico, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney was able to talk about the outcome of the meeting with Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) vice president of government relations. When Shaun talked to John Masswohl, with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, it was clear that the… Read More
One of the major agriculture lobby organizations in the United States is the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). With members across the country, there are many priorities for the AFBF under the new Trump administration. At this week’s National Cattlemen’s Beef Association meeting in Nashville, Shaun Haney spoke with AFBF president Zippy Duvall. Duvall is a… Read More
Everybody’s waiting to see what President Trump plans to do with NAFTA, but it’s unlikely it will be detrimental to the movement of cattle and pigs across the Canada-U.S. border, says Guelph-based livestock and meat market analyst Kevin Grier. While Trump’s “Buy American” policy and willingness to flat-out talk about being protectionist are concerning, Grier says he… Read More
Whether it’s through the Trans-Pacific Partnership or not, Canada’s meat processors say they need a trade deal with Japan to maintain exports. While Australia and New Zealand remain hopeful the TPP can move forward, the 12-country deal’s future looks bleak after President Trump followed through on his campaign promise to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement this… Read More
Although United States farm groups and ag interests are still sorting out where they stand with the new administration, several voiced immediate criticism of President Trump’s formal commitment to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday. The TPP — a multilateral trade deal between Canada, the U.S. and 10 other countries around the Pacific Rim —… Read More
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
As Donald Trump takes office in the United States, questions abound regarding the impact of his promised economic, environmental, foreign, and trade policies. There’s optimism in the agricultural regions of the U.S, as the president-elect has promised a major reduction of government agency regulation. The American people wanted something different in Washington and that is what they appear… Read More
Whether we’re talking about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national carbon tax commitment, the signing of the Canada-EU trade deal, the canola agreement with China, or Canada’s primary trading partner electing Donald Trump, there was no shortage of agriculture-related news in Ottawa in 2016. This year also marked the Liberals’ first full year in power, and Lawrence MacAulay’s first… Read More