The U.S. and Mexico are “very, very close” to reaching a deal to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). A White House economic adviser said this week the negotiation teams were going through the perceived final details. The U.S. is hopeful a deal with Mexico can be a model for what Canada could accept. Canada remains on the …
Farm Export Prices Post Large Declines
U.S. agriculture export prices fell 5.3 percent last month. Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor shows the decline is the largest drop in farm exports since 2011. The decline in July followed a one percent decrease in June, which followed a 1.6 percent increase in May. The department says a 14.1 percent drop in soybean prices was the …
China: U.S. Agriculture May Never Bounce Back
China threatens that U.S. agriculture won’t recover from the tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries. In the South China Morning Post, a government official warned that U.S. agriculture may never regain lost market share stemming from the trade war. China alleges that “many countries have the willingness” and capacity to take over market share occupied by U.S. goods. Since …
Farm Futures Survey: Farmer Support for Trump Slipping
A poll by Farm Futures shows support to Donald Trump from farmers is slipping. The survey found that 60 percent of farmers would vote for the president if the election were held today. That’s down from the 75 percent support level Trump received from growers in the 2016 election. Meanwhile, 24 percent said they would not vote for reelection and …
Agri View: Rice Outlook Looks Good
Everett Griner talks about one of the most consumed foods in the world, the 2018-19 rice crop outlook, in today’s Agri View. Rice Outlook Looks Good You know, you don’t hear so much about rice because it is one of the smallest crops grown in the United States. If you look at other countries, and world consumption, you can see that …
Grains Exports on Track to Set New Record
U.S. exports of grain in all forms are on track to set a new record in 2017/2018, with two months of sales left to report, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and analysis by the U.S. Grains Council. During the first ten months of the marketing year, September 2017 to June 2018, the United States exported 98.3 …
Next Round of Tariffs Set
The U.S. says it will begin imposing tariffs of 25 percent on an additional $16 billion in Chinese imports, further escalating the trade war between the two countries. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office says Customs will begin collecting the extra duties on 279 different product lines. The list includes a lot of industrial and machinery products. Agricultural machinery is on …
Farmers for Free Trade Unhappy with Tariff Escalation
Farmers for Free Trade Executive Director Brian Kuehl says he’s unhappy the White House is ratcheting up the trade war. While more tariffs on Chinese goods are set to go into effect in two weeks, he says the President is telling farmers to be patient as prices plummet and their markets are overtaken by foreign competitors. “That’s why with each …
NAFTA Negotiations: Mexico Close, Canada Talks Not Close
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations with Mexico are going “as well as we can possibly expect right now.” That’s from Gregg Doud, the Chief U.S. Agriculture Negotiator, who spoke at the International Sweetener Symposium in Michigan. The Hagstrom Report says he also mentioned that negotiators “haven’t had market access conversations with Canada of any substance.” He also told …
Doud Rips China, India Farm Subsidies
The Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. is attacking both China and India for blowing past their World Trade Organization spending limits on farm subsidies that distort trade. “We think China has done in excess of $100 billion more in subsidies to its farmers than it was allowed to do,” Gregg Doug said at the American Sugar Alliance’s International Sweetener …