Italian sausages, cheeses and other traditional foods for sale in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo in December 2016. (Florin1961/iStock/Getty Images)

Italy says it won’t ratify EU-Canada trade deal

Rome | Reuters — Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Friday, although Canadian officials played down the threat to the accord, which mostly took effect last year. “Soon CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) will arrive in parliament and this […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle pivot higher on bargain buying

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle turned up sharply on Friday, with support from short-covering and bargain buying after Thursday’s losses that were partly led by U.S. trade uncertainty, said analysts and traders. On Friday China said it planned to impose similar size tariffs soon after Washington announced duties on $50 billion […] Read more

Italian sausages, cheeses and other traditional foods for sale in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo in December 2016. (Florin1961/iStock/Getty Images)

Italy won’t ratify EU trade deal with Canada, farm minister says

Milan | Reuters — Italy will not ratify the European Union’s free trade agreement with Canada, its new agriculture minister said on Thursday, ratcheting up an international trade spat and potentially scuppering the EU’s biggest accord in years. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is the first major trade deal the European Union has […] Read more


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Canadian dairy sector skimming global exports, U.S. complains

Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Canada’s surging exports of protein-rich skim milk powder have angered farmers in the U.S., as the sheltered dairy sector in Canada draws the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump for its high tariffs. Canada cannot expect to have both a protected system and compete globally, U.S. Dairy Export Council CEO Tom […] Read more



(Deyana Robova photo/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking, trade war fears upend CME hogs

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures closed lower on Thursday, rocked by profit-taking amid worries that pork could suffer from retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., traders said. June hogs closed 0.7 cents/lb. lower at 76.625 cents (all figures US$). July ended 2.075 cents lower at 78.05 cents. Mexico threatened to reciprocate with […] Read more