EU

Extremely dry weather in Australia, southern Europe and the U.S. northern Plains could mark the end of record-large wheat crops worldwide, says Reuters. Analysts expect the Australian wheat crop will be markedly smaller than the government forecasts while grain production in Italy and parts of Spain could be the smallest in at least 20 years.

Thanks to strict EU legislation, only dairy products can be called milk, cream, butter, cheese, or yogurt, the European Court of Justice said in a ruling that nixes using such terms as “soy milk” and “tofu butter” for plant-based products.

The European Union hopes to enlist American cities and states to lower greenhouse gas emissions, now that President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate treaty, Reuters reports.

Wheat prices reached their highest level in nearly three years on the London futures market because of fears that dry weather threatens the summer harvest.

An Italian researcher says results of a study on animal health and the weedkiller glyphosate will be published in time for an EU decision on whether to allow continued use of the herbicide, says Reuters. Preliminary results show no initial adverse reaction in rats exposed to the herbicide in levels equal to that allowed in humans.

More than a decade after joining the EU, residents of Eastern Europe believe they are getting the short end of the deal, and the resentment is taking form in complaints about sub-standard food, reports the New York Times. "With rising passion, prominent politicians and local news media have taken up the issue of whether Eastern Europeans are being sold inferior products."

The administrative arm of the European Union approved the merger of Dow and DuPont based on their promises to divest some assets, says Deutsche Welle. It was the first decision on a wave of proposed consolidations that would reshape the seed and ag-chemical sector into a "big three," down from the six firms that now compete.

A key EPA official who played a role in deciding the government’s cancer designation on Roundup, Monsanto’s weedkiller, was routinely communicating with company officials, according to federal court documents unsealed Tuesday. The official reportedly told the company that he could kill another agency’s investigation into glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

One day after signing a trade pact with the European Union, the Canadian government said it would start work immediately on implementation. The so-called CETA agreement was regarded for months as an indicator of prospects for a U.S.-EU free-trade agreement; the EU trade commissioner says the initiative is still alive although on the sidelines while the United States chooses its next president.

The Canadian trade minister, Chrystia Freeland, declared that the European Union was incapable of finalizing a trans-Atlantic trade deal and walked out of negotiations, said Reuters. The environmental group Friends of the Earth said it was time to kill the Canada-EU pact and a proposed U.S.-EU free-trade agreement.

France is now the first country in the world to ban plastic cups, plates and utensils, says the Washington Post. The countrywide rule will go into effect in 2020. "The new law is a part of the country’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, the same legislation that also outlawed plastic bags in grocery stores and markets beginning in July."

French President Francois Hollande said the U.S.-EU free-trade agreement under discussion for three years cannot be finalized before President Obama leaves office in January, said BBC News. Hollande was the latest in a series of European officials to question if negotiations can be completed; France's trade minister said he would propose suspension of negotiations at an EU meeting next month.

Russia will shatter its record for wheat production with a harvest of 72 million tonnes this year, far exceeding the record set in 2008 of 63.7 million tonnes, says USDA. The record crop will vault Russia ahead of the EU as the world's top exporter for the first time, with the United States in third place, according to USDA's Grain: World Markets and Trade report.

If the EU fails to approve a free-trade agreement with Canada, its trade policy will be "close to death," in the view of the bloc's director-general for trade, reported Politico.

After dipping to 2.27 billion pounds in 2015, U.S. beef exports are forecast to climb 9 percent this year, and to climb again next year, said the monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook. "The U.S. competitive advantage in beef production relative to other major beef producing nations has enabled it to increase its market in global beef trade," says the USDA report.

France's junior minister for trade, Matthias Fekl, said it will be "impossible" for the EU and the United States to complete a free-trade agreement this year, reports the EurActiv news site. Fekl threw cold water on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on the same day the EU announced a slow-down in the approval process for a sweeping EU-Canada trade pact.

The United States exports only tiny amounts of pork to the EU but still may feel the impact of Britain's decision to leave the 28-nation bloc. In the financial turmoil that has followed the vote, the value of the U.S. dollar has risen against the Euro, putting U.S. pork at a disadvantage on the world market, says Purdue economist Chris Hurt.

The executive arm of the EU approved a short-term extension of European use of the weedkiller glyphosate while a safety study is completed. EU members are deadlocked over renewal of the license and without the intervention by the European Commission, the license would have expired today and started a six-month phase-out.