Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada this week announced new dairy working groups to address industry concerns. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced the new working groups comprised of dairy farmers and processors. Canada says that while informal engagement has already begun with the dairy sector, the working groups bring together officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, representatives from national dairy organizations and …
China Trade War Not Ending Soon
The trade war between China and the U.S. will not be ending soon. President Donald Trump recently told Agri-Pulse that “you’ve got to have a little time,” referring to when trade relations may return to normal or better status between the United States and China. President Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting …
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 …
Perdue Talks Possible Trade Aid Adjustments
USDA is considering the possibility of adjusting direct payments to producers who’ve been hurt by the trade war. The adjustments may include factoring in hurricane damage after southeast U.S. producers were hit hard by hurricanes this year. A DTN report says Perdue asked USDA staff to look at the fact that they believe payments should be based on actual production …
No USDA Trade Aid Planned For 2019
The Trump Administration has no plans in place for 2019 to give any more aid to farmers hurt by tariffs. Bloomberg says that’s based on assumptions that markets will recover even if the trade war with China keeps going. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue made that announcement last week. Back in July, the administration announced it would deliver $12 billion in …
Grassley: No Trade Aid for Smithfield Foods
When it comes to just who is eligible for trade aid, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley said Smithfield Foods shouldn’t be one of the companies which are eligible help. Smithfield is owned by Chinese conglomerate WH Group. Grassley took to Twitter and says, “Smithfield seems to be in a ‘can’t-lose’ situation thanks to American taxpayers.” A spokesman for the Iowa Republican, …
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 …
Grain Industry Seeks to Modernize Global Ag Commodity Trade
The world’s largest grain processors are jointly seeking to standardize and digitize global agriculture shipping transactions. Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus announced the collaboration this week in an effort to benefit the entire industry and seek broad-based industry participation to promote global access and adoption. Initially, the companies are focused on technologies to automate grain and oilseed …
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 …