The U.S. has agreed to lift its steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico, removing major obstacles for ratification of the renegotiated North American free trade pact by all three countries.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement would be an overall win for the U.S. farm sector, reforming biotechnology and phytosanitary standards, but it would also allow for only “slight increases” in exports of some U.S. agricultural commodities, according to a 379-page analysis released today by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi are scheduled to begin two days of talks on a free trade agreement in Washington Monday, U.S. government officials tell Agri-Pulse.

The National Pork Producers Council has cancelled its signature summer event out of an “abundance of caution” as African Swine Fever continues to rip through the global pork herd.

Mexico is irreplaceable as a foreign market that buys billions of dollars of milk, ham, rice, potatoes and corn, so farm groups are alarmed by President Donald Trump’s renewed threats to shut down the southern border.