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Incoming WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala takes part in an online meeting before speaking during an interview with Reuters in Potomac, Maryland on Feb. 15, 2021. (Photo: Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
Markets

Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala makes history as new head of WTO

Geneva-based body leaderless for six months; Trump paralyzed some of WTO's functions

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Geneva/Washington | Reuters — Three months after the Trump administration rejected her, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received unanimous backing on Monday to become the first woman and first African director-general of the World Trade Organization. A self-declared “doer” with a track record of taking on seemingly intractable problems, Okonjo-Iweala will have her work […] Read more
A canola field near Pincher Creek, Alta. (Laughingmango/E+/Getty Images)
Markets

Ag industry a potential ‘bright spot,’ post-pandemic

Agriculture could lead economic rebuild, ATB official says

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Alberta’s ag sector will be key in rebuilding the province’s economy once the pandemic is over, says the director of research for economics at ATB Financial. “Overall, I think one of the bright spots in a really dark economic situation in the province is our agriculture and agri-food sector,” Rob Roach said. “It’s still producing. […] Read more
Signed trade deals that were supposed to benefit Canadian farmers have failed to deliver.
News

Trade deals not working well enough for farmers

Government continues to look for multilateral deals

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Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s top trade warriors have strongly underlined their commitment to fight for fair treatment of Canadian farm products in the global marketplace. But the growing exasperation of the agriculture industry with the obstructionist antics of foreign trading partners was evident during the Canadian Crops Convention. Signed trade deals that once seemed to […] Read more
A cargo ship is loaded with Brazilian soybeans bound for China. (Photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)
Markets

Trade pacts, food policy on AAFC’s agenda for 2020-21

Department also plans to back collaborative research between farmers, scientists

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Improving international trade and introducing the new food policy highlight Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) plans for the next year. In its 2020-21 departmental plan, which sets priorities for the upcoming year, AAFC says it will “continue to assist the sector to take advantage of market opportunities and maintain or improve access to international markets, […] Read more
Governments can provide tactical support in the form of subsidies, negotiating trade deals or developing new markets, but farmers are the ones on the front lines.
News

Opinion: Farm angst is about more than a challenging harvest

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There is a palpable sense of angst in the agricultural community these days as farmers struggle with the immediate challenge of harvesting fields in weather the seems to keep turning against them. But it’s more than an exhausting harvest. All that talk they’ve been hearing in recent years about unlimited market opportunities has turned out […] Read more
News

Opinion: Agriculture needs to fight new age of trade protectionism

The Canadian government should apply a ‘trade lens’ to its policies across departments

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The world has entered a new age of nationalism, resulting in growing trade protectionism and increasing barriers for Canadian farmers and exporters who depend on international markets. The idea that trade is about winning or losing is dangerous and misleading. This idea ignores the world’s growth over the last 75 years and the disastrous outcomes […] Read more
Cheddar cheese is one area that is subjected to high U.S. import tariffs.
News

U.S. dairy tariffs block many imports

An analysis says the U.S. isn’t the great free-trader in dairy it makes itself out to be

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If you listen to U.S. President Donald Trump, the United States is a free-trading hero that is being abused by protectionist “freeloaders” like Canada. Especially with Canadian restrictions on dairy imports, the U.S. president has presented an image of fair-trading American dairy farmers being taken advantage of by outrageous Canadian rules to protect that country’s […] Read more
The larger tariffs are on steel and aluminum and over the longer term, that will affect prices of everything from tractors to hog penning.
News

Tarif-fying or not?

What does the escalating global tariff war mean for Ontario farmers?

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The global trade dispute between a protectionist United States and many of its trading partners, including Canada, the European Union and China has Ontario farmers struggling to deal with an unknown outlook. There have been little hiccups on trade in the past, but since the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which morphed into the North American […] Read more

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