The National Cotton Council (NCC) recently joined with more than 40 other agricultural organizations in writing a letter to President Trump regarding the current trade situation with China. Reece Langley, NCC vice president of Washington Operations, is hopeful the current United States-China talks will restore normal trade relations. Last week, President Trump said trade talks with China “are rounding the turn” …
Commissioner Nikki Fried Letter to USTR’s Lighthizer: “Put American Farmers & Families First”
Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried sent a letter to Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, raising serious concerns about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The pending multilateral trade agreement and successor to NAFTA, called “definitely worse than the current situation,” threatens to devastate business for American seasonal crop growers, particularly those in Florida, Georgia, and other Southeast states due to a lack of …
AFBF Concerned about Labor, Trade if Border Closed
The American Farm Bureau Federation is urging the administration to make sure that any steps undertaken to tighten enforcement at the U.S. border do not create more uncertainty for agricultural producers. “Right now, farmers and ranchers are toughing it out,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Many of our products are caught up in a trade dispute. Mother Nature has devastated the …
U.S. Pork Can’t Afford Loss of Mexican Market
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) asked the Trump administration to carefully consider the fallout from cutting off trade between the United States and Mexico. U.S. pork producers and other American farmers are already facing mounting financial losses from retaliatory tariffs by Mexico and China. The following statement may be attributed to David Herring, president of the National Pork Producers …
NPPC Calls for Swift U.S./Japan Trade Negotiation
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) welcomed reports that the United States and Japan will commence trade negotiations on April 15, 2019 and urged the Trump administration to expeditiously complete and deliver for ratification to Congress a trade deal that puts U.S. pork producers back on a level playing field in Japan. “U.S. pork producers are losing market share in …
Trump Wants Quick Action on USMCA
President Donald Trump wants lawmakers to move quickly to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The USMCA, Trump’s replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, is currently being navigated through procedural hurdles before the administration can present the final proposed agreement to Congress. Lawmakers must consider the agreement on a simple yes or no vote, with no amendments, with Trade …
Soybean Growers Unhappy with President Trump’s Comments on Keeping Tariffs in Place under a China Agreement
The American Soybean Association (ASA) is not pleased with recent comments from President Trump that he could leave tariffs in place under an agreement with China. ASA has always considered the lifting of the Section 301 tariffs by the U.S. in exchange for China removing its retaliatory 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybean imports as essential to any initial agreement …
China Could Triple U.S. Agricultural Purchases
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue this week again said China could triple its purchases of U.S. agricultural products. The U.S. and China are still hashing out the details of a trade agreement, now thought to conclude in June. Perdue told Bloomberg Television this week “we could easily see, if we are able to come to a trade resolution, a doubling or …
Hemp Industry Looking at Establishing a Trade Association
A coalition of hemp farmers, farm service companies, processors, crop insurance agents and lenders, as well as other stakeholders, are looking at possibly establishing a trade association group. The Hagstrom Report says the goal is to have an organization that represents the hemp industry in Washington, D.C. Hemp is currently used to make textiles, paper, paint, oil, biodegradable plastics, and …
Lawmakers say No to Potential EU-U.S. Trade Agreement without Agriculture
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is demanding the Trump Administration force the European Union to include agriculture in upcoming trade talks. A group of 114 lawmakers penned a letter this week to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stating, “an agreement with the EU that does not address trade in agriculture would be, in our eyes, unacceptable.” The U.S. and EU …