Canada’s Competition Bureau says it’s “actively reviewing” BASF’s suitability as a buyer of the crop seed and chemical assets Bayer has to sell to get the bureau’s blessing to buy Monsanto. The Competition Bureau said Wednesday it has an agreement with Bayer to deal with “concerns that the proposed transaction would have significantly harmed competition […] Read more

Canada clears Bayer’s Monsanto play, with conditions

Freeland to visit Washington this week for NAFTA talks
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will visit Washington this week in another bid to help unblock talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, a spokesman said on Monday. Freeland will be in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, said spokesman Adam Austen. The U.S., Mexico and Canada are struggling to […] Read more

Deere recalls loader attachments over manual omission
Over 1,300 Deere front-end loader attachments sold in Canada are being recalled over what’s missing from their operator manuals. Deere and Co. and Health Canada on Thursday announced a recall for certain 120R John Deere loaders sold from May through September last year. “The ballasting information for the loader when attached to a John Deere […] Read more

Canada says NAFTA officials in constant contact on trade talks
Ottawa | Reuters — Top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials are in constant contact about slow-moving talks to revitalize NAFTA and are ready to meet at any time to push the process forwards, Canada’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement have stalled as Canada and Mexico try […] Read more

NAFTA nations ‘nowhere near’ a deal, USTR says
Washington/New York | Reuters — The top U.S. trade official on Thursday poured cold water on the prospect of an imminent breakthrough in talks to rework the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) hours after Canada’s prime minister struck a positive note. “The NAFTA countries are nowhere near close to a deal,” U.S. Trade Representative […] Read more

U.S. pushing for NAFTA deal ahead of Thursday deadline
Washington | Reuters — The United States is still pushing for a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the White House said on Wednesday, while a top Mexican official held out the possibility of an agreement in the coming weeks. President Donald Trump is committed to getting a better agreement with […] Read more

NAFTA ‘hot topics’ said unresolved as deal deadline looms
Washington | Reuters — U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues in a new NAFTA trade deal appear to have been resolved, diminishing chances of meeting a Thursday deadline to notify U.S. lawmakers of an agreement. If the notification is not sent by Thursday, U.S. House Speaker Paul […] Read more

Aurora to buy Ontario’s MedReleaf in biggest-ever pot deal
Reuters — Aurora Cannabis will buy rival MedReleaf Corp. for $3.2 billion in the biggest deal yet to unify major Canadian pot growers, as the country moves toward legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The deal announced Monday is the latest in a wave of mergers in the industry as marijuana producers — emboldened by pot […] Read more

Negotiators fail to reach NAFTA deal
Washington | Reuters — Senior U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials on Friday ended a week of talks without a deal to modernize NAFTA, agreeing instead to resume negotiations soon, ahead of a deadline next week issued by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. The failure to secure a quick deal underscores uncertainty over the […] Read more

Ryan sets May 17 deadline for NAFTA deal
Washington | Reuters — U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new NAFTA trade deal to give the current Congress a chance of passing it, while Mexico’s top trade official on Thursday said time was running short to meet such a deadline. Ryan, who controls legislation […] Read more