
Tag Archives CUSMA

U.S. throws down CUSMA challenge on Canada’s dairy import limits
Filing challenges Canadian tariff rate quota reserved for processors
Five months and counting since the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement came into force, the U.S. government has launched a CUSMA challenge of how Canada applies tariff exemptions on dairy imports. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said Wednesday he has served Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng with written notice that the U.S. is “exercising its rights to […] Read more

Tighter timeline set for dairy farmers’ trade pact compensation
Feather sector compensation pledged with $691 million in programs
Compensation to Canada’s supply-managed farmers, to offset domestic market share dealt away in two recent free trade pacts, will now move more quickly to dairy farmers — and will take the form of new programs for feather sectors. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Saturday announced $1.405 billion in compensation, as pledged in August last […] Read more

Dairy farmers press feds on compensation promises, again
Canada’s dairy farmers are again calling on the federal government to make good on its promise to compensate producers, after giving up market share of the supply-managed industry to more foreign competitors through trade pacts. The Liberal government, most recently in its Sept. 23 speech from the throne, has told Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) […] Read more

New finance minister Freeland no longer to spearhead U.S. relations
Ottawa | Reuters — Chrystia Freeland will no longer be in charge of spearheading diplomatic relations with the United States now that she is Canada’s new finance minister, three government sources told Reuters Wednesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made Freeland his main U.S. go-between when he named her deputy prime minister after last year’s […] Read more

CUSMA pact takes effect under cloud of disputes, COVID-19
Deal appears to assure continuity of trade for agriculture
Washington/Mexico City/Ottawa | Reuters — A modernized U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact took effect on Wednesday, ensuring continuity for manufacturers and agriculture, but the threat of disputes is exposing cracks in what was meant to be a stronger North American fortress of competitiveness. As the deal kicks in, the Trump administration is threatening Canada with new aluminum […] Read more

New declaration requirements coming up for grain deliveries
Regulatory changes also allow Canadian grades for U.S.-grown grain
Changes are afoot as early as next week for growers from all across Canada — and from the United States — who deliver grain to licensed Canadian buyers, as revised trade rules take effect between the two countries. With the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), the successor trade deal to NAFTA, taking effect, new regulations addressing […] Read more

President’s cattle call finds expected marks in U.S.
Trump suggests killing trade pacts with unnamed cattle-exporting nations
U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks Tuesday about imports of live cattle into the United States resonated predictably among that country’s various cattle producer groups. At a White House event Tuesday, flanked by U.S. farm and ranch leaders and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for a multi-billion-dollar COVID-19-related farm aid announcement, Trump said he “read yesterday where […] Read more

CUSMA pact to take effect July 1, USTR says
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on Friday said he has notified Congress that the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement will take effect on July 1, a month later than initially proposed. In a statement, Lighthizer said both Mexico and Canada had taken measures necessary to comply with their commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada […] Read more

Parliament hustles through CUSMA ratification
Implementing bill passes before Commons adjourns until April 20
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Parliament rushed through ratification of the new Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade pact on Friday before taking a three-week break to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, a top government official said. Canada was the last of the three signatories to formally adopt the pact, prompting congratulations from the United States […] Read more

NFU sees red flags in CUSMA bill for grain growers
Bibeau urged to 'correct mistakes' in NAFTA 2.0-enabling legislation
The National Farmers Union is warning of sweeping changes to Canadian grain regulation it sees tucked into federal legislation meant to put through the successor deal to NAFTA. Bill C-4, the implementing legislation for the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), passed second reading Feb. 6 and came back without amendment Feb. 27 from the Commons standing committee […] Read more