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Canada and the U.S. will launch formal discussions to review their free trade agreement in mid-January, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.The prime minister confirmed to provincial leaders that Dominic LeBlanc, the country’s point person for U.S-Canada trade relations, “will meet with U.S. counterparts in mid-January to launch formal discussions,” Carney’s office said in a statement late Thursday.The United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, or USMCA, is up for review in 2026. U.S. President Donald Trump negotiated the deal in his first term and included a clause to possibly renegotiate the deal in 2026.Carney met with the leaders of Canada’s provinces on Thursday to give them an update on trade talks with the U.S.Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and more than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the country’s southern neighbor. But most exports to the U.S. are currently exempted by USMCA.Trump cut off trade talks to reduce tariffs on certain sectors with Carney in October after the Ontario provincial government ran an anti-tariff advertisement in the U.S. That followed a spring of acrimony, since abated, over Trump’s insistence that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.Carney said earlier Thursday that Canada and the U.S. were close to an agreement at the time on sectoral tariff relief in multiple areas, including steel and aluminum. Tariffs are taking a toll on certain sectors of Canada’s economy, particularly aluminum, steel, auto and lumber.Carney also said trade irritants flagged this week by U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are elements of a “much bigger discussion” about continental trade. Greer said a coming review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico trade deal will hinge on resolving U.S. concerns about Canadian policies on dairy products, alcohol and digital services.Carney and the provincial premiers agreed to meet in person in Ottawa early in the new year.Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, as are 85% of U.S. electricity imports.Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.Carney said U.S. access to Canada’s critical ministers is not a certainty.“It’s a potential opportunity for the United States, but it’s not an assured opportunity for the United States. It’s part of a bigger discussion in terms of our trading relationship, because we have other partners around the world, in Europe for example, who are very interested in participating,” Carney said earlier Thursday. Rob Gillies, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Delivery company Instacart will pay $60 million in customer refunds under a settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged deceptive practices.The FTC said Thursday that Instacart has been falsely advertising free deliveries. The San Francisco-based company isn’t clearly disclosing service fees, which add as much as 15% to an order and must be paid for customers to receive their groceries, the FTC said.Instacart has also failed to clearly disclose that customers who enroll in a free trial for its Instacart+ program will be charged membership fees at the end of the trial. The FTC said hundreds of thousands of customers have been charged but have received no benefits from memberships or refunds. Instacart+ offers members free deliveries on most orders for $99 per year.The FTC said Instacart also advertises a “100% satisfaction guarantee,” but customers who experience late deliveries or unprofessional service are typically only offered a small credit that can be used toward a future order and not a refund.“The FTC is focused on monitoring online delivery services to ensure that competitors are transparently competing on price and delivery terms,” said Christopher Mufarrige, the director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.Instacart denied the FTC’s allegations of wrongdoing Thursday but said it reached a settlement in order to move forward and focus on its business.“Instacart is proud to offer a transparent, affordable and consumer-friendly service. We provide straightforward marketing, transparent pricing and fees, clear terms, easy cancellation and generous refund policies all in full compliance with the law and exceeding industry norms,” the company said in a statement.Instacart shares fell nearly 2% in after-hours trading Thursday.The settlement comes as Instacart is facing separate questions about its pricing practices.Earlier this month, a report by Consumer Reports and two progressive advocacy groups Groundwork Collaborative and More Perfect Union found that Instacart charged different prices for the same grocery items even though online shoppers were filling their Instacart baskets at the same time and at the same stores.The report suggested that Instacart may be using artificial intelligence tools to drive up costs for consumers.The FTC said Thursday that it wouldn’t comment on whether it will open a separate investigation into Instacart’s pricing policies, following longstanding policy.“But, like so many Americans, we are disturbed by what we have read in the press about Instacart’s alleged pricing policies,” FTC spokesperson Joe Simonson said in a statement.Instacart said Thursday that the FTC requested information on its pricing tools and the pricing practice of the retailers it works with as part of the investigation that led to the settlement. It noted that the settlement didn’t contain any allegations about its pricing practices.In its own blog post Thursday, Instacart stressed that it isn’t a retailer and doesn’t control base prices listed on its website. It said retailers often test prices in order to see how sensitive consumers are when prices go up or down, and that’s what was happening in Consumer Reports’ case.Instacart also said the company and its retailers don’t use information about shoppers’ income, zip code or shopping history to set prices.Instacart said it encourages retailers to charge the same amount on its website as they charge for in-store shoppers. Some retailers, including Lowe’s, Ulta Beauty and Best Buy, already do that, Instacart said, but many others don’t. This story clarifies an earlier version, which suggested the FTC opened a new investigation to examine Instacart’s pricing practices. They were examined as part of the current investigation. Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Business Writer
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E-Commerce
Before food influencers were deep-frying Chipotle burritos, putting an entire serving of mac and cheese on their Chick-fil-A sandwich, and making McDonalds hash browns into ice cream sandwiches, there was another food-hack-slash-Frankenfood that ruled the internet: the quesarito. This week, Taco Bell brought it back to its official menu. The quesarito is exactly what its name implies: a fully loaded burrito that, instead of being wrapped in a regular tortilla, has been lovingly sealed inside a giant quesadilla. Its the epitome of fast-food gluttony, and as of December 18, its back in Taco Bell stores for a limited time for $6.70 (and a relatively modest 570 calories). The quesarito feels like the glaringly modern invention of view-farming TikTok food scientists, but its actually been around for more than a decadeand before it ever hit Taco Bells official menu, it started as a humble secret menu item at Chipotle. In honor of the quesaritos fleeting return, heres a look back at the history of one of the weirdestand most forward-thinkingfast-food creations to ever grace our palates. The hunt for a quesarito It was December 2013, and Fast Company editor Mark Wilson was going to get his hands on a quesarito, come hell or high water. That year, the concept of a secret menu was already popular at joints like In-N-Out and Starbucks, but company executives werent exactly embracing the idea. There was a bit of a wink-wink culture surrounding these off-menu creations, led by intrepid fast-food lovers: the internet could create a name for them, determined customers could order them, but CEOs would steadfastly deny their existence. [Photo: Mark Wilson] That was the case with the quesarito, which, according to its dedicated Wiki page, is a concept that dates back to as early as 2011. While the very first coining of the term quesarito is unclear, we do know that it started as a menu hack at Chipotle. In one viral Reddit thread from 2012, a former Chipotle employee left a comment about the quesarito in which it was described as a full-blown Chipotle burrito wrapped inside a quesadilla, or, as Wilson put it in a feature story at the time, a 1,540-calorie fallen angel. But when Wilson tried to order the quesarito at a Chipotle, he was swiftly deniedand when he talked to Chipotles then-communications director, Chris Arnold, about the experience, Arnold denied the existence of a secret menu at all. Taco Bell eats Chipotles lunch Chipotle never did acknowledge the quesarito as a true part of its menu. But where it faltered, Taco Bell picked up the slack. After some initial testing in 2013, the beloved fast-food chain introduced the quesarito as an official menu item in 2014, complete with seasoned beef, rice, Chipotle sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, all wrapped up in a grilled quesadilla loaded with melted cheeses and nacho cheese sauce. The item immediately received press after Taco Bells ad campaign to launch it accidentally interrupted the live draft of basketball star Nikola Jokiæ; but it soon became iconic in its own right. Taco Bell didnt respond to Fast Companys request for specific sales data, but, according to a press release, the quesarito was an instant sensation. Despite its popularity, the quesarito was slowly phased out of the limelight and onto Taco Bells back burners, becoming an app exclusive in 2020 and getting cut from the menu entirely in 2023. Per Taco Bells recent press release, After it left the menu, the demand only intensified, sparking tributes, fan petitions and countless pleas for its return. A quick search for quesarito on TikTok confirms that the glorified cheese bomb has a genuine fanbase. Taco Bell brought back my favorite item of all time! popular FoodToker Steph Pappas says in a new video on the rerelease. I have been doing food videos for a long, long time, and this was always my go-to. A fast-food harbinger of micro-trends to come The quesarito feels exactly like the kind of item thats primed to go viral on todays TikTok algorithm. That might be because, compared to 2013, the secret menu is a lot less secret these days. Internet menu hack culture got a major boost from the micro-trend economy on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reelsmeaning that, every few days, a new popular food combination picks up steam and starts to feel unavoidable. Brands are picking up on this, too: Starbucks launched an official secret menu this summer; followed by Taco Bell, which debuted a feature called Fan Style that let users build their own menu items; and, most recently, Chipotle, which just unveiled an Ozempic-optimized, protein-packed menu inspired by TikTok hacks. Before all of this brand maneuvering, there was a humble, elusive creation that captured the cultural zeitgeists attention. Welcome back, quesaritoyou were always ahead of your time.
Category:
E-Commerce
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