NAFTA
Don’t worry about trade, plant as much as possible, says Commerce’s Ross
It sounded like the return of Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz, who urged farmers to plant fence row to fence row, when Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was asked about the uncertainties created by President Trump's plan to renegotiate trade pacts, says DTN. Ross responded, "If I were a farmer, I would plant as much as I can logically plant in today's environment."
Now Trump says he’ll renegotiate NAFTA. Or maybe not.
After rattling the nerves of the farm sector, President Trump said "we're going to give re-negotiation a good strong shot," rather than abandoning the North American Free Trade Agreement. "I decided rather than terminating NAFTA, which would be a pretty big, you know, shock to the system, we will re-negotiate," Trump told reporters while meeting Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
Farm groups urge Trump to preserve NAFTA
The Trump administration is mulling a draft executive order to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA, says a senior White House official, according to Reuters. NAFTA renegotiations were expected to start in August, but a withdrawal by the U.S. could rush the timeline.
Trump warns Canada, ‘We’re going to take care of our dairy farmers’
At an agricultural roundtable in the White House, President Trump turned up the heat in the U.S.-Canada dairy dispute, saying "we don't want to be taken advantage of by other countries – and that's stopping and stopping fast." At nearly the same time, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told reporters separately that the administration is looking for measures to resume sales of ultra-filtered milk from U.S. farms to Canadian processors.
Trump broadens attack on Canada and NAFTA, calls it ‘a disaster for our country’
Two days after accusing Canada of stifling U.S. dairy exports, President Trump said, "what they've done to our dairy farm workers is a disgrace," and added: "[W]e're going to get to the negotiating table with Canada very, very quickly" to re-write NAFTA. In Toronto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he anticipated "a thoughtful, fact-based conversation on how to move forward in a way the protects our consumers and our agricultural producers."
World’s largest ag exporter feels hemmed in by competition
For decades, the United States has been the world's largest agricultural exporter, but the title is becoming harder to maintain, says the Wall Street Journal. "America's share of global corn, soybean and wheat exports has shrunk by more than half since the mid-1970s," it says, pointing to USDA data, adding that soybeans "make up about 40 percent of world exports, down from more than 70 percent three decades ago."
A sea of issues await Perdue when he walks in the door at USDA
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is hours away from becoming U.S. agriculture secretary, with the Senate expected to confirm the nomination by a solid majority this evening. Perdue will enter the job on a tide of goodwill and risks inundation by a flood of issues from budget cuts and agricultural trade to expanded subsidies for cotton and dairy producers.
Will Trump’s America First policy make COOL great again?
Under the threat of $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs by Canada and Mexico, Congress repealed a law 16 months ago that required packages of beef and and pork to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. Activist agricultural groups say a revival of the labels would be a complement to President Trump's America First policy and his complaint of unfair practices by U.S. neighbors.
U.S. will ‘get the solution’ in dairy dispute with Canada, says Trump
During a trip to Wisconsin, President Trump said, “We’re going to get the solution” in a dispute with Canada over the price of a high-protein milk concentrate called ultrafiltered milk that’s used in making cheese.
Mexico sees trade deal with Argentina on ag products by end of year
Mexico’s deputy trade minister, Juan Carlos Baker, said that a trade agreement with Argentina involving cars and agricultural products could be completed by the end of this year.
White House: NAFTA will wait until Lighthizer is confirmed
President Trump made renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement a top issue during his election campaign, but he has moved slowly on it since taking office. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the administration is waiting for Senate confirmation of Robert Lighthizer as U.S. trade representative before it starts the clock running for discussions with Canada and Mexico.
Draft points to market access as key Trump goal in NAFTA renegotiation
Hog and turkey farmers say they could suffer if NAFTA renegotiation blows up
After withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, President Trump's top trade objective is renegotiation of the 23-year-old U.S.-Canada-Mexico agreement known as NAFTA. Farm groups speaking for U.S. hog and turkey farmers told a House Agriculture subcommittee that their industries could suffer greatly if exports are disrupted.
Senate panel ‘will move as quickly as possible’ on Perdue nomination
American agriculture is "going through a rough patch right now," so the Senate Agriculture Committee "will move as quickly as possible in a bipartisan fashion ... to get the governor down to the department," chairman Pat Roberts said, referring to the nominee for agriculture secretary, former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue. The committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.
USTR nominee says he will give priority to agriculture trade
President Trump's nominee for U.S. trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, said at his confirmation hearing that he will follow Trump's "America first" policy. Reminded by farm-state senators of the importance of exports to the agricultural economy, Lighthizer responded, "I assure you we will prioritize agriculture," reported DTN.
Hot issues could put the chill on farm bill fever
The Senate Agriculture Committee holds its first farm bill hearing today in Kansas, 19 months before expiration of current law. Congress has not enacted a farm bill on time since 1990, so an early start seems prudent — the committee held its kickoff in Washington last week. Yet, it's too early to push to the side other issues that could dominate 2017.
Trump: Tweaks for Canada, but ‘we’re going to work with Mexico’ on NAFTA
After his first meeting with Canada's prime minister, President Trump tagged Mexico as his prime target in renegotiating the two-decade-old North American Free Trade Agreement. "We'll be tweaking it," Trump responded when asked about the impact on Canada. "It's a much less severe situation than what's taking place on the southern border."
Canada says it ‘would respond appropriately’ to new U.S. tariffs
After meeting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Canada's foreign minister said her country "would respond appropriately" if the United States pushes for new tariffs on Canadian products as part of NAFTA negotiations, said Reuters. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could meet President Trump as early as next week; NAFTA would be a top issue.