U.S. beef exports remained very strong in September while pork exports continued to be impacted by retaliatory duties in China and Mexico, According to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef exports cooled from the record results posted in August, but were still significantly higher year-over-year. September beef exports totaled 110,100 metric tons, …
Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Cancel Benefits of USMCA
Steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. will hurt agriculture more than NAFTA 2.0 will help. The updated North American Free Trade Agreement, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), would grow U.S. agricultural exports by $450 million a year, according to the Farm Foundation. However, the organization says the retaliatory tariffs in response to the tariffs that President Donald Trump …
Canada Willing to Stall Trade Deal with China until China is More Reasonable
Canada is willing to stall a potential trade deal with China until China starts behaving better, according to CBC News. Canada’s ambassador to China says a trade pact doesn’t seem likely to be reached until China shows flexibility on controversial policies. Ambassador John McCallum says right now, much of the work on a potential trade agreement is focusing on “bridging …
Federal Reserve: NAFTA 2.0 Won’t Help Dairy Industry
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) replacement will not benefit dairy farmers, according to the Federal Reserve Bank. A report by the Federal Reserve says gains made by the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that will replace NAFTA are “too small and too far in the future to help dairy farmers.” The Minneapolis Fed reported that “a substantial number of dairy …
China Wants to Stop Buying U.S. Soybeans
The biggest move by China against the U.S. in the tit-for-tat trade war could be a movement towards abandoning U.S. soybeans. China, facing a potential shortage following its 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans, is already purchasing from other suppliers and proposing to cut the amount of protein used in livestock feeds. CNN reports that one of China’s top feed …
Dairy Industry Applauds Work to Deepen Philippine Trade Relations
The U.S. Trade Representative announced progress in talks with the Philippines under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). U.S. dairy producers and processors appreciate the Administration’s work to preserve and deepen market access ties with a country that purchased $243 million in U.S. dairy products last year. In a joint statement released about the recent achievements in resolving …
NMPF Asks USDA to Bolster Dairy Aid Package
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs to better reflect the dairy-farm incomes lost to tariff retaliation when it calculates its next round of trade mitigation payments, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said. In a letter sent Tuesday to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, NMPF Chairman and dairy farmer Randy Mooney cited four studies illustrating that milk producers have experienced …
Japan-EU Trade Deal to Increase Market Competition
A trade agreement between the European Union and Japan will increase competition for the United States. Japan’s conclusion of the trade agreement, and efforts to complete the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, will increase competition in Japan for U.S. oilseed and vegetable products, according to the Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service. The two agreements contain tariff concessions for a …
EU Cleared to Start Talks on Increasing U.S. Beef Imports
The European Union (EU) late last week agreed to allow negotiations with the U.S. to increase imports of U.S. beef to the EU. The move could help ease some transatlantic trade tensions, according to Reuters, which reports the EU says “finding a mutually beneficial solution to our longstanding dispute over beef would be a major step forward in improving” trade …
Beagle Brigade Helping Protect Homeland Pork
When Hardy, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) trained detector dog, sniffed out a roasted pig head in traveler baggage at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport early this month, it underscored the efforts USDA and its partners are undertaking to keep African Swine Fever (ASF), a swine disease that could devastate the U.S. pork producers, from entering the country. USDA continues …