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Trade war impact on ag exports was greater than it appears, say economists

An analysis by five economists says the Sino-U.S. trade war cut far deeper into U.S. farm exports to China than it appears in a simple tallying of sales before and after the tariffs were announced.

As Senate passes USMCA, Trump tells farmers to remember the trade war money

As President Trump scored his second trade victory in two days, Senate approval of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, he asked farmers on Thursday to remember the billions of dollars they had received in trade war payments.

Ag purchases from U.S. will hinge on Chinese demand, says vice premier

The “phase one” trade agreement with China assures sales of “up to $50 billion in agriculture alone,” said President Trump at a White House signing ceremony on Wednesday, although Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said sales would depend on domestic demand and U.S. prices. A senior administration official said later that the pact did not require China to remove retaliatory tariffs on U.S. farm goods — a potential barrier to exports.

Senate to give Trump a trade victory days before impeachment trial

Grassley says he will blow the whistle if Chinese backslide on trade deal

‘Phase one’ with China is ‘pretty much all for the farmers,’ says Trump

With China confirming that it will sign a “phase one” trade agreement next week, President Trump said on Thursday that the pact, which will include China buying up to $50 billion a year in U.S. farm exports, “is pretty much all for the farmers.” At the same time, the outlook darkened for final congressional approval of the USMCA next week.

Grassley has good words for ‘Tariff Man’

U.S. and China to ease, but not end, trade war next week

President Trump says he and Chinese officials will sign a "phase one" trade agreement at the White House on Jan. 15 that will de-escalate the Sino-U.S. tariff war that began in earnest in mid-2018. The agreement obligates China to buy up to $50 billion a year in U.S. farm exports, more than four times the sales level forecast for this year, according to U.S. officials, but details have not been released.

China may agree to buy U.S. ag exports, but a final tranche of cash to farmers is still likely

On the same day that China and the United States tentatively reached a “phase one” agreement on a trade deal, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that he expects producers will still receive the final $3.6 billion in trade war payments President Trump authorized last spring.

Keep trade war payments flowing, say ag bankers

The Trump administration has sent $10.5 billion in cash to producers since mid-August to mitigate the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war, aid that comes on top of $8.6 billion paid for 2018 crops and livestock. “Yes, [the payments] are helpful,” said a Kansas banker on Wednesday — and the government should keep writing the checks.

Kudlow says ‘no arbitrary deadlines,’ but a Sino-U.S. trigger date is near

China said it would waive import tariffs on some shipments of U.S. soybeans and pork in a goodwill gesture hours before White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two nations were close to an interim agreement on the trade war. "No arbitrary deadlines," said Kudlow, but the Trump administration has set Dec. 15 as the date for higher duties on $160 billion of consumer goods made in China.

Cautious farmers dim Deere’s outlook for 2020

The world's largest farm equipment maker, Deere and Co., expects sales of its agricultural equipment to decline by 5-10 percent globally in the year ahead due to lower demand for big machinery. "Lingering trade tensions coupled with a year of difficult growing and harvesting conditions have caused many farmers to become cautious about making major investments in new equipment," said chief executive John May.

Two states top $1 billion in Trump tariff payments this year

Producers in Iowa and Illinois reaped 20 percent of the trade war payments from the Trump administration, as cash disbursements leaped to nearly $10.2 billion nationwide for this year's crops and livestock. Iowa collected $1.15 billion and Illinois $1.06 billion, according to the USDA.

Stronger-than-expected sales to China buoy US ag exports

Farm income is highest in six years, thanks to Trump’s trade-war bailout

Fueled by $14.5 billion in Trump tariff payments, U.S. net farm income will climb to its highest total since the commodity boom crested in 2013 and a dramatic rebound from the plunge that accompanied its collapse, the USDA estimated. When crop insurance indemnities are added to "direct farm program payments," a category that includes trade war aid, land stewardship payments and traditional crop supports, the government will provide an unusually high 31 percent of farm income this year.

Trump tariff payments may bring WTO woes, says think tank

After ups and downs, farm groups look for finality on trade

As lawmakers become more vocal in criticizing Trump tariff payments, U.S. farm groups  increasingly are quiet on trade issues. The reasons range from weariness to uncertainty over what's to come, whether it's the Sino-U.S. trade war, congressional approval of the USMCA with Canada and Mexico, or implementation of new ag trade rules with Japan, say analysts and farm group officials.

USDA releases additional $3.6 billion in Trump tariff payments

With the Sino-U.S. trade war unresolved, the Trump administration released $3.625 billion in trade-war payments to farmers and ranchers on Friday to offset losses on 2019 production. Payments will begin this week and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said they "will give farmers, who have had a tough year due to unfair trade retaliation and natural disasters, much needed funds in time for Thanksgiving.”

A ‘Trump bump’ on the farm, with a dollop of trade war anxiety

As it did eight years ago, Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election has ignited a surge of enthusiasm among farmers, although two-fifths of them say there is a risk of a damaging trade war, said a Purdue University poll released on Tuesday. The Ag Economy Barometer, a gauge of farmer confidence, surged 30 points to its highest reading since May 2021.

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