CANADA/MEXICO/NAFTA/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Get ready to hear a lot of talk about USMCA — the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Trade officials struck a deal late Sunday [9-30-18] night for a three-way trade pact to replace NAFTA that includes significant changes to dairy import rules. The preliminary deal marks a major step toward fulfilling one of President Donald Trump’s signature campaign promises…Dairy changes: Trump administration officials said the new framework eliminates Canada’s ‘Class 7’ pricing system for milk ingredients, Pro Canada’s Alexander Panetta and Pro Trade’s Adam Behsudi and Megan Casella report. It also opens the Canadian dairy market to U.S. exports at an additional 3.59 percent — more than the 3.25 percent share the Obama administration negotiated under the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The new dairy access was a priority for U.S. negotiators and had been one of the most vexing disputes in the trade talks. American dairy farmers complain that the milk ingredient pricing scheme has dried up demand for their products and distorted international markets. New safeguards will be created to prevent major export increases for certain dairy products.”
–Ryan McCrimmon, “Trump lands NAFTA deal with Canada,” Politico, October 1, 2018 10:00 am