Following a weekend meeting in Canada, House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway said the North American Free Trade Agreement is “too important to screw up.” Conaway took part in a delegation of House members that focused on agricultural trade in a discussion with Canadian officials before this week’s round of NAFTA talks. In a statement, Conaway said the goal of the …
Trade Expert: U.S. is Setting Up NAFTA for Failure
Trade experts in Canada speculate President Donald Trump may be arranging the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations to allow the U.S. to walk away from the trade deal. The Canadian Press news agency says a consensus is growing that a series of untenable U.S. bargaining positions is part of a plan by Trump to lay the groundwork so …
NAFTA Negotiators Head to Washington This Week
NAFTA negotiators head into the fourth of seven scheduled rounds of talks this week in Washington, and agriculture is concerned as the talks enter a critical stage. American Farm Bureau (AFB) trade adviser Dave Salmonsen says the pace of talks and discussion of more sensitive issues is heightening tensions as the three-NAFTA partners try to score so-far, elusive gains. U.S. …
Business Leaders to Talk Trade with Mexico
Negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement continue Wednesday, with some speculating agriculture issues to finally emerge in the talks. However, while negotiators will be in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will lead a delegation of U.S. CEO’s to Mexico City. Bloomberg reports that the U.S. business leaders will meet with counterparts from Mexico’s private sector and …
NAFTA Not Moving Quick Enough
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway echoed comments made last week by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, saying the negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement are not moving fast enough. Conaway stated: “Perdue hit the nail on the head when he said we need to stop circling the ring in NAFTA negotiations and begin laying out concrete agriculture proposals.” He …
Ag to Take Center Stage in Round Four of NAFTA Talks
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue talked on Wednesday about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations, saying he’s “somewhat disappointed” with the pace of the talks. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says Perdue tried to offer hope to U.S. farmers by saying there’s a potential for serious agricultural discussions next week when Round Four gets underway. “Honestly, we’ve been somewhat …
U.S. Ag Groups Want Intervention of GI Review
Farm and food groups want the Trump Administration to address a trade consideration between Mexico and Japan regarding geographical indications. Japan and Mexico are considering giving exclusive status to various European geographical food and drink names. In a letter to President Trump, the groups say that the European Union is currently negotiating with both nations on lists of protected geographical …
NAFTA Talks to Return to Washington, D.C.
The North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort will return to Washington, D.C. this month for the fourth round of official talks. The negotiations will resume October 11th through the 15th, following a round of talks in Canada last month. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said progress was made in the most recent meetings “on a number of …
Mexico Says U.S. Proposals Would Threaten Free Ag Trade
Pan Am Post Dot Com says the U.S. will be putting forth controversial proposals during the next round of North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The U.S. will allegedly be putting forth proposals for what it calls “seasonal windows” when it comes to agriculture trading with Mexico and Canada. The article says this type of a proposal would be a …
NAFTA Nations Reports Progress Despite Tensions
Negotiators in the North American Free Trade Agreement talks say they’re making progress after the third round of talks concluded Wednesday. A Bloomberg report says that talk of progress comes as tensions grow between the U.S. and Canada over aircraft. The U.S. imposed trade duties on Canadian-made aircraft, inflaming tensions with Canada. The nations did make some progress in the …