Trade

Op-Ed: Oil, dairy supply management paradox points to need for a new policy direction

On December 2, the Alberta government announced it will impose production discipline on the province’s oil companies to bring the price of bitumen-based oil above its cost of production. This came in response to it being discounted by over $50 per barrel compared to higher-grade West Texas Intermediate oil. Falling prices would soon cause oil Read more

Letter to Prime Minister urging Canada not to sign new NAFTA agreement in its present form

November 29, 2018 The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau P.C., M.P., Prime Minister of Canada House of Commons Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Dear Prime Minister, Re: NFU urges Canada to not sign new NAFTA agreement on November 30, 2018 The National Farmers Union (NFU) urges Canada not to sign the new NAFTA agreement in Buenos Aires Read more

NFU urges Canada not to sign new NAFTA in its present form

(Saskatoon) – Today the National Farmers Union (NFU) sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Freeland urging them not to sign the new NAFTA agreement in its present form. “It has recently come to light that the published text – which is available only on the US Trade Representatives website and Read more

USMCA

The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement

USMCA goes against Canada’s grain

The USMCA grain section requires Canada to give imported US wheat the same grade as our own, and would prevent Canada from identifying country of origin for US wheat on our grade certificates. To implement these measures, we would have to amend the Canada Grain Act, but The Canada Grain Act requirements are the foundation of Canada’s reputation for quality assured grain. Read more

As if the USMCA dairy concessions were not bad enough…

It is deeply concerning, though not surprising, that the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has at least three chapters that formally entrench corporate influence on government decision-making. Read more

Canadian dairy farmers hit yet again with new trade agreement, says NFU

The Canadian government again secured a trade deal by sacrificing another vital part of domestic supply management. NAFTA will be replaced with a new trade agreement, now called USMCA, the US Mexico Canada Agreement. Read more

Canada’s Grain Grading System is Not Discriminatory

Contrary to a recent Financial Post opinion piece, Canada's grain grading and variety registration systems are never used to prevent American grain from being imported and sold into Canada. Our system just does not allow American grain to pretend to be Canadian— and there are good reasons for that. Read more

No to any NAFTA concessions on grain grading, says NFU

Saskatoon—A United States government fact sheet summarizing the agriculture-related aspects of its recent bilateral deal with Mexico suggests Canada’s unparalleled grain grading and quality assurance system is now on the NAFTA negotiating table. Read more

NAFTA renegotiation provides opening for renewed US attack on Canadian wheat grading framework

The stated desire to expand the volume of US wheat exports into Canada is not a believable reason for demands to gain access to our grading system. However, it would benefit the multinational grain companies that support the US wheat lobby to dismantle our CGC grading system and instead have all wheat sold on specifications instead of by class and grade. Read more