agricultural exports
With NAFTA at crucial point, U.S. farm leaders speak up for trade pacts
U.S. farm leaders turned up the volume in the debate over the new NAFTA, worried that the success story of food and ag exports isn't being heard among the clamor for tougher U.S. trade rules. "We have to be a player in the trade arena so we can move our product out of the country and feed the world," said Zippy Duvall, president of the largest U.S. farm group, during a teleconference on the importance of safeguarding market access in the NAFTA negotiations, now in the fourth of seven scheduled rounds of talks.
USDA nominees give top priority to larger U.S. farm exports
The board of the Consumer Goods Forum, which includes 400 of the biggest goods companies in 70 countries, used Climate Week to call on foodmakers and retailers to standardize the "Sell by," "Use by" and "Best before" labels that confuse consumers and contribute to food waste. The industry "call to action" dovetails with a UN goal of reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030.
U.S. cotton exports leap 63 percent to second-largest ever
A rebound in cotton plantings and yields in 2016 resulted in a dramatic surge in exports in the trade year that ended Aug. 1, according to USDA's monthly Cotton and Wool Outlook. "A large supply of high-quality cotton pushed shipments to the second-highest on record."
Senate bill would double funding for two ag export programs
A bipartisan group of four senators, including two members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, proposed doubling funding over the next five years for two USDA programs that promote U.S. farm exports. The senators acted as Congress prepares to write the 2018 farm bill, which usually includes export programs.
U.S. ag exports rebound from slump, tie for third-largest ever
U.S. farm exports will total $139.8 billion this fiscal year, the third-highest tally ever and ending a slump in sales that begin in 2014 following the collapse of the commodity boom, estimated the USDA in a quarterly report. In its first forecast for fiscal 2018, the USDA pegged exports at $139 billion.
Farm groups to NAFTA negotiators: Do no harm, do no harm, do no harm
“From your perspective, would it have been better if the Trump administration had never raised the issue of renegotiating NAFTA?” The Bloomberg Radio reporter had to ask the question twice before he got an answer, maybe because it conveyed the uncomfortable, but undeniable, sentiment at Wednesday’s joint press conference by the three main farm groups from the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
NAFTA’s brewing milk war
As NAFTA renegotiations get underway, dairy is shaping up as major sticking point between Canada and the United States. After Canada’s foreign affairs minister insisted on Monday that Canada will defend its tightly controlled approach to its dairy industry, the president of the National Milk Producers Federation accused her of trying to have it both ways on free trade.
On NAFTA, Mexicans will try to give Trump a ‘win’ without losing
As Mexican officials head to Washington this week to begin renegotiating NAFTA, they are balancing their specific goals with an awareness that the American president cares as much, or more, about the optics of the deal than the specifics, says the Los Angeles Times.
Perdue: New NAFTA mantra must be ‘Do no harm to agriculture’
With negotiations for the "new NAFTA" to begin next week, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says he is repeating one message to the White House: First, do no harm to agriculture. U.S. farm exports to Canada and Mexico quadrupled under the 1994 trade agreement, and U.S. farm groups fear that renegotiating the deal will disrupt their duty-free access to the border nations.
Hand-wringing and hand-holding ahead of NAFTA talks
At nearly the same time Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was calming fears of a downturn in U.S.-Mexico agricultural trade, some Mexican farm groups demanded that agriculture be left out of the "new NAFTA" negotiations that begin in 16 days.
With phytosanitary agreement, U.S. nears rice exports to China
The United States is on the cusp of exporting rice to China for the first time, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, following a Sino-U.S. agreement on a protocol to prevent the introduction of rice pests into China. The trade group USA Rice said the agreement was "a tremendous leap" forward after a decade of work by the industry and USDA for access to the world's largest rice consuming nation.
White House indicates Trump will not disturb U.S. ag exports to Cuba
President Trump will announce new trade rules with Cuba intended to keep dollars out of the hands of the country’s military and intelligence agencies, said senior White House officials in advance of a presidential speech today in Miami. The officials indicated that food and ag exports would not be affected.
Lighthizer warning: Buy GMOs or expect a fight
The Trump administration will attack overseas regulations that restrict the export of GMO crops and other products resulting from American technological innovation, said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at the first meeting of a newly created task force on rural America.
With NAFTA on the horizon, U.S. deals with Canada and Mexico ag issues
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue went north and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross looked south as the Trump administration focused on North American food and farm trade issues. Based on "quite meaningful" progress, Ross allowed an additional 24 hours to complete a deal on sugar imports from Mexico, while Perdue discussed the future of two-way farm trade with Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence Macaulay.
U.S. farm exports rebound from two-year slump
Sharply higher sales of soybean, cotton, and livestock products are leading a rebound in U.S. farm exports this year, said the USDA. With four months left in the fiscal year, it estimated exports at $137 billion, up nearly 6 percent from 2016 and reversing two years of declining sales.
Senate confirms Iowa governor as U.S. ambassador to China
On an 82-13 roll call, the Senate confirmed Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as the U.S. ambassador to China. The longest-serving governor in U.S. history has said he will push China, the No. 1 customer for U.S. ag exports, to admit American beef and to remove barriers to other U.S. farm exports.
China deal could boost GMO-seed sales in U.S.
The new trade deal announced last week between China and the U.S. is expected to remove a major barrier to the sale of GMO seeds, reports Reuters. As part of the deal, China has agreed to review eight GM crops from the U.S., ending a years-long delay in the approval process by America's top export market for agricultural products.
Perdue assures farmers, ‘You grow it and we’ll sell it’
Standing in shirtsleeves on a hay rack at an Iowa farm, Agriculture Secretary discarded his prepared speech in favor of repeated promises to be an unstinting advocate of U.S. food and ag exports, which generate 20 percent of farm income. President Trump supports biofuels, said Perdue, adding, "I think it was the boss who said we're not going to mess with the RFS (Renewable Fuels Standard)."