Photo: WTO

China calls for overhaul of farm subsidy rules under WTO

Beijing | Reuters – China on Thursday called for the removal of “enormous” farm subsidies in some developed countries as part of Beijing’s push for reform of the World Trade Organization. “There are very unfair rules in the agriculture sector, and enormous subsidies some developed country members are entitled to, that severely distort international agricultural trade,” Wang […] Read more

File photo of a container vessel being unloaded at a U.K. port. (Sterling750/iStock/Getty Images)

Britain, New Zealand strike free trade deal

London/Wellington | Reuters — Britain and New Zealand have reached agreement in principle on a free trade deal designed to reduce tariffs, improve services trade, and take London one step closer to membership in a broader trans-Pacific trade agreement. Prime ministers Boris Johnson and Jacinda Ardern sealed the deal in a Zoom call on Wednesday […] Read more

File photo of a pineapple field in Taiwan. (Bing-Jhen Hong/iStock/Getty Images)

Taiwan applies to join Pacific trade pact week after China

Taipei | Reuters — Taiwan has formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the government said Wednesday, less than a week after China said it too had submitted an application. Taiwan has been angling to join the grouping for a while and had already been discussing the issue informally […] Read more

Beef is on display at a Walmart in Beijing on Sept. 23, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

China applies to join Trans-Pacific trade pact

Second-biggest economy seeks to add to economic clout

Updated, Sept. 17 — Beijing | Reuters — Japan said it would have to determine if China meets the “extremely high standards” of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the world’s second-biggest economy formally applied to join. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao submitted China’s application to join the free trade agreement in […] Read more

File photo of a container vessel being unloaded at a U.K. port. (Sterling750/iStock/Getty Images)

Britain begins negotiations to join Trans-Pacific pact

London | Reuters — Britain will begin negotiations on Tuesday to join a trans-Pacific trade deal that it sees as crucial to its post-Brexit pivot away from Europe and toward geographically more distant but faster-growing economies. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) removes 95 per cent of tariffs between its members: Japan, […] Read more


File photo of containers at a seaport in Jakarta. (Leolintang/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada, Indonesia launch trade pact talks

First round of negotiations expected later this year

Canada has formally declared it will start negotiations this year on a trade pact with Indonesia, a move ag exporters hope will stabilize and strengthen their market access to the Asia-Pacific region. Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and her Indonesian counterpart Muhammad Lutfi on Sunday declared the launch of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership […] Read more

File photo of a container vessel being unloaded at a U.K. port. (Sterling750/iStock/Getty Images)

Trans-Pacific trade partners agree for U.K. to start joining process

Tokyo | Reuters — Member nations of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Wednesday officially agreed to allow the United Kingdom to start the process of joining the pact, Japan’s economy minister said. Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura told reporters he welcomed the start of Britain’s joining process after hosting an […] Read more

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Feather sector’s on-farm upgrade program underway

Applications now being accepted for funding

The federal free trade compensation program to help Canada’s poultry and egg producers pay for on-farm upgrades, renovations and improvements is now taking applications. The $646.8 million, 10-year Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program (PEFIP) is now formally underway, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday. Each eligible Canadian producer is entitled to an amount proportional […] Read more


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Compensation programs hatched for feather sectors

On-farm investment, market development plans on deck

Long-awaited programs to make up for market share lost to imports under the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact are set to roll out to Canada’s chicken, egg and turkey farmers. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and caucus colleagues on Tuesday announced the specific contents of her previously-pledged $691 million, 10-year compensation funding envelope: a Poultry and Egg […] Read more

Indonesia has a growing middle class that provides a potential market for Canadian products.

Canada, Indonesia explore trade deal

Broader Southeast Asian pact could have potential

Glacier FarmMedia – Canada is exploring a potential trade pact with Indonesia as it continues to seek out deals in the Asia-Pacific region. International Trade Minister Mary Ng made the announcement Jan. 11. Why it matters: Asian-Pacific nations make up one of the largest potential growth markets for Canadian agricultural commodities, especially given the increased […] Read more