Efforts by the U.S. and South Korea are moving ahead to modernize the 2011 Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, or ‘KORUS,’ a key trade agreement for the U.S. pork and beef industries. The South Korean government sent its parliament a plan to renegotiate KORUS and announced it’s ready to start talks. The White House must tell Congress it plans to launch …
Perdue Hopeful for NAFTA Resolution
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation talks are taking longer than originally expected due to reported disagreements among trade representatives. Although people may be skeptical that a cohesive resolution will be made, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue believes agreements will be made in the end. AgNet Media’s Abbey Taylor was able to catch up with him in Tallahassee …
Setting Aside Money In Case of NAFTA Failure?
A Politico report shows just how worried some lawmakers are about the potential failure of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. Officials began talking on Tuesday about putting together a potential bailout of sorts for farmers. During a conference call Tuesday morning, Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley said he was going to ask U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer …
Canada Executives Urging Trudeau to Join U.S.-Free TPP
Business leaders in Canada are trying to sway Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to join the now U.S.-free Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. In an open letter, more than a dozen business leaders are telling Trudeau to join the pact that the U.S. left earlier this year. Canada-based Business News Network reports the letter doesn’t specifically mention the threat of a …
Ag, Business Community, Share Trade Concerns
A meeting with lawmakers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin last week focused on trade. Hosted by Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and others, the forum specifically focused on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Business leaders, along with the agriculture industry, were included in the meeting. Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Jim Holte says the message was clear: trade is important. …
Duvall on NAFTA: I’m Concerned But Optimism Remains
As the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiations continue, much is up in the air, and how it could impact the agriculture community. President Trump said he wanted to rework the more than 20-year-old trade deal, to make it fairer for American workers. However, much of the agriculture community is happy with the current NAFTA deal, and worry that …
Republican Governors Meet VP About NAFTA
Four Republican Governors met with Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday to discuss their concerns about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations. Reuters says the governor’s wanted to talk about their serious concerns regarding proposed changes to the agreement that they say could affect manufacturing and jobs in their states. The meetings included Governors Kim Reynolds of Iowa, …
Mexico Sees Possible Trade Deal with European Union
Mexico and the European Union could place the framework for a trade deal by the end of the year. As talks around the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) drag on, Mexico said this week that the nation is working with the EU to reach the framework for a trade agreement, but differences over agricultural market access remain. The two …
Canada and Mexico Working to Strengthen Trade Ties
While the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations are in between rounds, Mexico and Canada are still busy talking trade. Canada’s Ag Minister just wrapped up a two-day trip to Mexico City aimed at strengthening their bilateral relationship and promoting trade. Meating Place Dot Com says the Canadian Ag Minister, Lawrence McCauley, attended a large food and trade show …
Lighthizer defends U.S. Ag in WTO Meeting
U.S. Wheat Associates publicly thanked U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for his work defending U.S. agriculture against attempts to weaken the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on domestic support in agriculture. The Wheat Associates organization says the Buenos Aires WTO Ministerial Conference would be a failure and the mission of the WTO to advance trade would be negatively affected through …