The U.S. pork industry is pushing for trade talks with Japan to get underway immediately. Politico says the industry is lobbying the administration to move quickly in striking a favorable deal. Nick Giordano, vice president and counsel for the National Pork Producers Association, spoke during a recent media roundtable. He says the 11-nation CPTPP, which is the new name for …
Rubio, Colleagues Raise Concerns Regarding Lack of Effective Trade Enforcement for Seasonal Produce in USMCA
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), and Al Lawson (D-FL) led a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives in a letter raising concerns to United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer regarding the lack of progress in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) with respect to improved mechanisms to initiate and sustain legitimate anti-dumping and countervailing …
Cotton Industry Hopeful About China Trade Talks
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 …