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China and Canada struck a major trade agreement Friday, marking a warming of relations between the countries and an important shift in Canada’s relations with the U.S.
China will slash tariffs on Canadian canola seed to around 15% from 80%, with Ottawa in return allowing 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into its market at a tariff of 6.1%, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday during a visit to Beijing. Canola futures jumped following the news, with the March contract hitting its highest since Dec. 3 before finishing up C$5.10, or 0.8%, at C$639.50 a ton.
“In terms of the way that our relationship has progressed in recent months with China, it is more predictable” than Canada’s relationship with the U.S., Carney said on Friday, according to the Wall Street Journal, noting that the prime minister has said that Canada’s longstanding, close economic relationship with the U.S. is over.
Canada had imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs in 2024 at the urging of the U.S. Carney played down any threat to Canada’s auto industry. “It’s still in low, single-digit proportion of the size of the Canadian auto sector,” Carney said, according to Politico. “Canadians buy about 1.8 million autos a year.”
Carney has set a goal of increasing Canada’s non-U.S. trade by 50%. U.S.-Canada trade talks have been at a near-standstill since October when President Donald Trump called off negotiations in anger over a television ad criticizing U.S. tariffs.
Nasty weather in the Plains, but no wheat winterkill expected… Travelers and livestock faced very harsh conditions across the northern Plains Friday. Wind gusts hit 50 to 70 mph and morning temperatures dropped into the single digits, teens and 20s, according to World Weather Inc. The upper Midwest and Central Plains were also impacted over the course of the day, while the weekend will see wind, blowing snow and falling temperatures across the lower Midwest and into parts of the interior southeastern states, the weather forecaster said. Despite a fall to single-digit temperatures and a lack of snow cover, no winterkill is expected in hard red winter wheat areas of the Plains nor soft wheat areas of the Midwest, World Weather said, adding that “the cold may be helpful in restoring winter hardiness for these crops and prevent any early season crop development from occurring for a while.”
Lawmakers working on another round of farm aid
Key Republican lawmakers are attempting to put together another round of aid for farmers through appropriations bills, Politico reported. Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, chair of the Senate Appropriations Ag-FDA subcommittee met Wednesday with House Agriculture Committee Chair G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman of Arkansas to discuss a path for the package. The report said a final number is still up in the air, but they’re eyeing about $15 billion. Earlier, House Agriculture Committee ranking member Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, introduced a $17 billion farm aid plan that includes carveouts for specialty crops, foresters and sugar-beet producers.
Kevin vs. Kevin… The probability of White House economic adviser becoming the next Federal Reserve chair sank like a stone on betting markets Friday, while prospects for former Fed governor Kevin Warsh shot higher. The shift came after Trump told Hassett at a White House event that he was wary of losing him to the Fed.
“I actually want to keep you where you are, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told Hassett. “If I move him, these Fed guys — certainly the one we have now — they don’t talk much. I would lose you. It’s a serious concern to me.”
On Polymarket, the probability of Hassett getting the job fell from around 36% before Trump’s remarks to 16%, roughly even with Chris Waller, a sitting Fed governor. Warsh’s probability surged to 60% from around 38%.
Greek rice growers fear Mercosur deal… Greek rice growers fear the trade deal between the European Union and South American trade bloc Mercosur – made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – will put them out of business.
“We cannot sell because they are bringing a lot of rice from Asian countries and we’re already having trouble,” Menelaos Koukourdis, who grows rice across 450 acres outside the northern city of Thessaloniki, told Reuters. Koukordis now sells rice at 25 cents a kilo, half the price from a year ago, the report said. “Now that they will also bring rice from Mercosur, from South America, we’ll have to abandon everything,” he said.
The controversial trade pact spawned farmer protests across the EU, which delayed its approval. EU leaders agreed to the pact last week and are due to sign it this weekend. Under the deal, Europe will import 60,000 tons of duty-free rice from Mercosur.
Earlier: Evening Report – French farmers show their clout
The European Commission has said the quantities equal just a fraction of annual consumption in Europe, which relies on rice imports for about half its needs, the report said. Greece also defended the deal, noting it will give many of its products, including feta cheese and mastic, access to a population of 270 million and comes with safeguards that would be triggered in the event of import spikes.