After Donald Trump's election to a second term as U.S. president, Canadian farm and food leaders are considering how this could shift trade priorities for the Canadian agri-food sector.“Trump's pledge to boost competitiveness for American farmers could put Canadian farmers at a disadvantage and intensify the pressures on the Canadian agriculture industry,” Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab director Sylvain Charlebois said in a news release."Canada must confront a transactional approach from a Trump-led U.S., one that may bring both predictability and hard-nosed negotiations.”Canadian agriculture will prioritize a review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) in 2025 and 2026..OLDCORN: Mainstream media lost touch with Saskatchewanians.In an October speech, Trump said he intends to renegotiate CUSMA."We're pushing for our government to remind the US and Mexico ... that this is a review, not a renegotiation," Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie told the Western Producer.Grain Growers of Canada executive director Kyle Larkin said Canadians should be "significantly concerned" over the possibility of Trump renegotiating CUSMA, citing unpredictability in the original negotiations."It's not only the livelihoods of grain farmers that's at risk, but it's really the livelihoods of all Canadians," said Larkin..Parents Rights take centre stage in Saskatchewan’s school board trustees elections.International tariffs are another potential challenge, Currie said. Trump could decide a particular Canadian product or industry has taken away from American producers and could levy tariffs without considering the bigger picture.Larkin expressed concerns over Trump's plan for a 10% to 20% tariff, saying "it would have a significant impact on Canadian grain and grain product exports to the U.S."Farm Credit Canada chief economist J.P. Gervais said trade policy would be "different now with Trump in the White House" compared to under the previous administration..Canadian couple's South American dream road trip became nightmare after brutal attack."You're taxing exports out of China at a rate of 60%, which is really high, then you'd expect China to retaliate, which was actually what happened in the first Trump administration,” said Gervais. "That retaliation actually touched on ag commodities, which led to fluctuation in prices that sometimes have not been favourable to Canadian producers."National Farmers Union president Jenn Pfenning said there is precedent for Trump tariffs harming Canadian producers."What we've seen in the past is that Canada has not been immune to the protectionist tariffs levelled under his administration," she said. "So, while we probably will not be bearing the brunt of them, I expect they will have at least some impact on how we're doing business.".France to ban nicotine pouches.Many of Trump's agriculture-facing plans remain uncertain, Currie said."We really, honestly, I don't think, know what his exact priorities are going to be going forward," he said.Canadian Cattle Association General Manager Ryder Lee said waiting and seeing how many campaign promises become law would be important."We've been waiting to know, but still we don't really know," Lee told Canadian Cattlemen. "There'll be lots of trying to figure out what is for sure going to happen."
