Mexico and Canada both are eyeing new trade partners as trade rhetoric and threats from the U.S. are growing trade-related concerns between the three countries. The North American Free Trade Agreement members, Canada and Mexico, are considering non-U.S. markets, including China, to grow their economies in the future. The moves come as President Donald Trump promises a renegotiation of NAFTA, …
Avian Influenza Found in Mexico
The World Organization for Animal Health reports that highly contagious H7N3 avian influenza was confirmed Thursday at a farm in west-central Mexico. The virus was discovered in a flock of 15,000 birds that had been vaccinated and did not show any clinical signs of the disease, according to agriculture officials in Mexico. Reuters reports that the farm is under quarantine …
Commerce Department to End Mexican Sugar Dumping
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced it intends to end the antidumping and countervailing duty suspension agreements in place with Mexico over what it calls that country’s unfair trading practices. The department will impose duties on Mexican sugar imports beginning on June 5, unless the two countries can come to an agreement. Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar …
Canada/Mexico Doing NAFTA Renegotiations “Together”
The relationship between Mexico and Canada amid the upcoming North American Free Trade (NAFTA) negotiations is said by both countries to be more important than ever. The Canadian Broadcasting Company website says Mexican President Enrique Pena (payn-ya’) Nieto (Knee-eht-oh) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were both caught off guard by media reports saying U.S. President Donald Trump was readying …
U.S. Milk Exports to Mexico at Risk
$1.2 billion of milk exports from the U.S. to Mexico are at risk as Mexico appears to be seeking new trading partners. Mexico is America’s top dairy exporter, and as the Donald Trump administration makes trade relations uneasy with its North American Free Trade Agreement counterparts, Mexico is in talks to import dairy products from New Zealand. In the first …
Former USTR Says Future NAFTA Renegotiations Unpredictable
A former U.S. trade representative warned Canada that trade negotiations with the U.S. would be much less predictable with the Donald Trump administration. Obama-era USTR Michael Froman told Canada-based CBC News much of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations with the Trump administration will likely be familiar ground, albeit with a less predictable partner. Froman helped lead the Obama …
Commissioner Putnam Urges Department of Commerce to Investigate Mexico’s Unfair Trade Practices
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross emphasizing the need for fair trade, as Mexican imports have negatively affected Florida agriculture. He asked the Department of Commerce to initiate an investigation into Mexico’s unfair trade practices. “I believe that Florida produces the highest quality agricultural commodities in the world and …
Mexico Finishing New Trade Deal with Argentina
Mexico is looking to establish closer ties with other Latin American and South American countries after Donald Trump took office in the United States, its biggest export market. Reuters says Mexico expects to finish a new trade agreement with Argentina by the end of this year as it continues to try to diversify its trading partners. Argentina could make significant …
White House Plans to Tackle Tough Issues First in NAFTA Talks
The Donald Trump administration is considering front-loading the upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by negotiating the political issues first, ahead of more technical talks. A former official at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office told Politico this week the idea would be to “have a lot of those high-level discussions with principals at the beginning, and …
Mexico Approves ChemChina Acquisition of Syngenta
Mexico has signed-off on ChemChina’s acquisition of Swiss-based Syngenta. The Federal Economic Competition Commission of Mexico recently announced approval the $43 billion takeover of Syngenta by the state-owned Company, ChemChina. The two companies call the move a step towards closing the transaction, which is expected to take place in the second quarter of this year. The approval by Mexico follows …