A giant Mexican flag at Cozumel’s Puerta Maya. (CIA.gov)

Mexico will leave NAFTA talks if Trump triggers process to withdraw

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico will leave the NAFTA negotiating table if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to trigger a six-month process to withdraw from the trade pact, three Mexican sources with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Wednesday. Reuters reported earlier in the day that Canada was increasingly convinced that Trump would […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: NAFTA worries drag CME hogs from one-year high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs on Wednesday slid from a one-year top earlier in the session, rattled by fund selling and Canadian government concerns over NAFTA talks with the U.S., said traders. Canada is increasingly convinced that President Donald Trump will soon announce the U.S. intends to pull out of the […] Read more


U.S. President Donald Trump celebrates after signing a pair of documents meant to promote rural internet access, after his remarks to the American Farm Bureau Federation convention in Nashville on Jan. 8. Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

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

(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

NAFTA Washington talks said to leave major differences untouched

Washington | Reuters — Talks this week to update the North American Free Trade Agreement made some progress on less-controversial chapters and technical language, but did little to resolve deep differences on autos, dispute settlement and a five-year sunset clause, some participants said on Friday. The “intersessional” round in Washington, which did not include trade […] Read more



Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

China to accept Canadian chilled beef, pork in pilot project

Exporters of Canadian beef and pork are set to get expanded access to the “massive” Chinese market through a new bilateral pilot project. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday announced a series of joint initiatives and agreements in several fields including “a pilot project for the export of Canadian chilled […] Read more


(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Trade talks a dicey situation, Coyne says

Winnipeg | CNS Canada — With Canada in the midst of negotiations for two different trade agreements, the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership, trade concerns are getting muddled, according to Andrew Coyne. “We need to be conscious of diversifying our trade interests beyond just North America. It would be extremely foolish that […] Read more

Japan’s Imperial Palace and Nijubashi Bridge, in Tokyo. (CIA.gov)

TPP talks without U.S. near final stretch

Urayasu, Japan | Reuters — The 11 remaining nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States edged toward sealing a comprehensive free trade pact after New Zealand agreed to amend laws that are not subject to TPP, to enable its ban on foreign home purchases. The pact aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial […] Read more