one dollar banknote among wheat grains

Is it the end of the ag trade world as we know it?

Trade tensions, ad hoc American subsidies and surplus stocks raise the spectre of the 1980s — an era of grain subsidy wars and low prices

As Manitoba farmers wrap up seeding they face more uncertainty than usual, including the potential unravelling of the international, rules-based trading system that has become almost as essential as rain. Meanwhile, crop prices are down after a decade of relatively good returns spurring global production to exceed demand, exacerbated now by African swine fever decimating

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after her arrival at the Stelco steel plant in Hamilton on May 17, 2019, following news that the U.S. agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. (PMO photo by Adam Scotti)

Canada vows ‘full steam ahead’ on ratifying trade pact

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will move quickly to ratify the new North American trade pact, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Saturday, a day after the United States agreed to lift tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum. U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed the global “Section 232” tariffs of 25 per cent on steel and


A Mexican port-of-entry sign on Highway 92 near Naco, Arizona. (Rex_Wholster/iStock/Getty Images)

New Mexican duties against U.S. ready soon, minister says

Toronto | Reuters — Mexico is finalizing duties to impose on new U.S. products in retaliation for the Trump administration’s steel and aluminum tariffs and details should be available soon, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Tuesday. Mexico and Canada have both imposed retaliatory measures on billions of dollars of U.S. goods. Mexico said in

(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. to levy tariff on imported Mexican tomatoes in trade spat

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it will begin imposing a 17.5 per cent tariff on imported Mexican tomatoes, but said it is optimistic that a deal can be reached to extend a 2013 agreement that suspended a U.S. anti-dumping investigation. “The Department of Commerce remains committed to ensuring that


Shifting sands on international trade

Trade times have changed — and that puts Canada in a tough spot

So what’s caused this move to protectionism after decades of freer trade? Call it the Trump effect. The United States, once the world’s leader in multilateral trade promotion, has derailed trade as it tries to win better deals for itself. “(I)n all honesty it’s affecting a lot of countries around the world because a lot




Dairy Farmers of Manitoba chair David Wiens says the silver lining in the recent USMCA is the upswell of public support for Canadian dairy farmers.

USMCA discussions dominate at Dairy Farmers’ AGM

Supply management is the hill we must die on – Alistair Johnston Canadian Dairy Commission

Dairy Farmers of Manitoba chair David Wiens minced no words in his address to the organization’s annual general meeting earlier this month. “This has been one of the most dramatic years,” he told the assembled delegates. He was of course mainly referencing the recently negotiated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and how it has affected the


Dairy cattle in Canada. (Pearman314/iStock/Getty Images)

USMCA costs Canada sovereignty in ag policy, critics warn

Changes to Canadian dairy supply management in the final text of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement give up oversight of the system to the U.S., Canada’s dairy farmer group warns. The trade deal, signed Friday in Buenos Aires by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexico’s outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, now goes