The U.S. dairy industry endorsed bipartisan, bicameral legislation to reform a powerful White House trade tool to ensure it is used as intended by Congress to respond to genuine national security threats. Rolling back current retaliatory tariffs and keeping others from forming in the future is the dairy industry’s top trade priority. America currently sends 16 percent of its dairy …
Tariff Mitigation Payments May Not Be What Was Expected
A senior USDA official says the amount of money sent to farmers to help mitigate the financial damage from the trade war may not be as much as expected. An Agriculture Dot Com article quotes USDA Under Secretary Bill Northey as saying up to two-thirds of the Trump trade aid payments were made by early January. Northey says, “up to …
Groups Urge Administration To Lift Metals Tariffs
A diverse, ad hoc coalition of more than 45 groups representing many sectors of the U.S. economy joined the National Pork Producers Council in calling for an end to U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican aluminum and steel imports so that America can take advantage of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The Trump administration on June 1, 2018, imposed a 25 …
U.S. Beef Competitors Seeing Benefits in Japan
Japan started cutting tariffs for some of U.S. agriculture’s biggest competitors, especially for beef. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile will all benefit from lower Japanese tariffs. That, after the U.S. pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, and the remaining 11-nations made their own separate deal. Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman has the story. Sponsored ContentStrong Relationship Exists Between the …
NCC: Tariff Mitigation Assistance Appreciated
The National Cotton Council (NCC) conveyed thanks to President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for authorizing the second round of trade mitigation payments aimed at assisting farmers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. USDA announced that producers of certain commodities, including cotton, now will be eligible to receive Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments for the second …
Ag Must Be Part Of U.S.-EU Trade Deal, Groups Insist
An ad hoc coalition of more than 50 food and agriculture organizations is insisting that any trade deal between the United States and the European Union include agriculture and that it address the EU’s restrictive tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. farm products. In a letter sent to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, 53 organizations, led by the National Pork …
Tariffs Headed for WTO Dispute Hearings
Both the United States and opponents of tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump confirmed they want to take their disputes to the World Trade Organization. Those confirmations kickstarted the procedure for the WTO to set up dispute hearings. China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Norway all confirmed that they will take their disputes to adjudication proceedings. …
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 …
Vietnam Winning U.S.-China Trade War
Vietnam is emerging as the winner of the U.S.-China trade war. A new analysis by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China shows companies in China and the U.S. are losing market share, especially to companies from Vietnam, as a result of the trade war. Companies in China also report they are losing sales to companies from India, the …
USDA Planning Trade Aid Round Two Distribution
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is readying round-two of trade mitigation payments for farmers. The payments are the second half of the $12 billion program by the Trump administration to compensate farmers for losses stemming from Trump’s trade agenda. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said he doesn’t expect the payments “any later than December,” according to Politico. USDA previously used about …