Trade
Farm groups warn of damage as Trump threatens border closure
On Wednesday, in his latest threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border, President Trump demanded that Congress “immediately eliminate the loopholes at the Border.” The American Farm Bureau Federation asked that agricultural trade be exempted from any restrictions, and the National Farmers Union said a closure would be disastrous.
Senators mull limits on ‘national security’ tariffs
Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley has lots of company in considering limits on the president’s power to impose tariffs on national security grounds. In the coming weeks, Grassley expects to introduce a bipartisan bill to reform these so-called Section 232 tariffs.
Brazil agrees to let some wheat enter duty-free, an opening for U.S. grain
With trade war, sorghum stockpile set to hit a 13-year high
A year ago, half of the U.S. sorghum crop was exported. This year, only a quarter of it is headed overseas due to the U.S.-China trade war, which means the sorghum stockpile will double by the time the new crop is ready for harvest this summer. USDA's monthly Grains: World Markets and Trade report says the sorghum inventory will be the largest in 13 years.
Ag ‘risks losing much of the trade gains achieved over the past three decades’
The U.S. food and agriculture sector would lose nearly $22 billion in exports, equal to 15 percent of this year's sales forecast, if the United States scrapped NAFTA without a replacement on top of withdrawing from TPP, said three Purdue economists in a report on Monday. "Under this more pessimistic outcome, the negative trade impacts would be reflected in lower incomes for U.S. farmers, reduced land returns and labor displacement."
Trump will try again to cut USDA, says Perdue
The Agriculture Department faces large spending cuts, said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday while a White House official said President Trump will ask for one "one of the largest spending reductions in history" in the upcoming fiscal 2020 budget. Perdue told reporters that he encouraged the administration to submit a package "within the realm of negotiation," considering Congress rejected outright Trump's previous budgets.
Farmers grill Perdue for details about resumed exports to China
During a day trip to North Carolina, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue was thanked on Monday for the billions of dollars the Trump administration is sending to farmers to mitigate the impact of trade war with China. But he was also prodded for a resumption in exports.
Ag chairmen see low prices and trade war pressuring farm income
Persistently low commodity prices are pushing some farmers to the financial edge, said the chairmen of the Senate and House Agriculture committees on Thursday. "We are in a very tough spot," said Senate Ag chairman Pat Roberts. The House Ag chairman, Collin Peterson, said "we are not in crisis yet" but said that continued sour conditions would sap the finances of a growing number of farmers.
U.S. squashes tomato deal with Mexico
Effective May 7, the United States will withdraw from a "suspension agreement" with Mexico over imports of fresh tomatoes so Washington can consider complaints of tomato dumping, said the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Florida Tomato Exchange asked the Trump administration last November to resume an investigation of whether tomatoes were being sold at less than fair value.
Trump asks Congress to pass trade deal with Canada, Mexico
After calling NAFTA an historic trade blunder, President Trump called on Congress on Tuesday to pass its successor, saying the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would expand American agriculture. Wheat growers responded by warning against withdrawing from NAFTA, a tactic Trump has discussed, before the new trade agreement is ratified.
Trade war panned as China buys more U.S. soy
Two outspoken Kansans scored the trade war with China as needlessly disruptive for the farm sector on Tuesday, with Senate Agriculture chairman Pat Roberts comparing it to the five-week partial government shutdown and economist Barry Flinchbaugh urging Congress to curtail President Trump's power to impose tariffs in the name of national security. In a pause in the trade war, China bought 2.6 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans, the third-largest soy sale in USDA records.
Stronger safety net needed, says second-largest U.S. farm group
Many farmers "are struggling to stay afloat" because of the trade war and persistently low commodity prices, said the National Farmers Union board on Tuesday, calling on Congress and the White House to strengthen the federal safety net. Separately, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said another multibillion-dollar round of Trump tariff payments may be needed.
A costly half-year for soybean growers in Sino-U.S. trade war
After six months of tit-for-tat tariffs between China and the United States, American soybean growers called for a speedy end to the trade war on Monday. "This has been a long and costly half-year for farmers and we need stability returned to this market. We cannot withstand another six months," said Kentucky farmer Davie Stephens, president of the American Soybean Association.
USDA doubles Trump tariff payments to farmers to $9.6 billion
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced on Monday the second and final round of $4.8 billion of Trump tariff payments, meaning crop and livestock producers will collect up to $9.6 billion in cash to cushion the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war. So far, the USDA has sent $2.38 billion in payments to producers of almonds, corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybeans, fresh sweet cherries and wheat.
White House expects immediate action by China on ag trade
Taking a "show me" stance, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Monday he expected China to roll back tariffs on U.S. farm exports promptly and begin trade reforms in line with the trade deal struck by President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The White House said over the weekend that China will make "very substantial" purchases of agricultural, energy and industrial goods but analysts saw no firm commitments in the statement.
Hog prices below cost of production because of trade war
Pork producers will struggle through this winter with market prices below the cost of production, says economist Chris Hurt of Purdue University. "Record pork production and trade disputes continue to be the near-term drag on prices," wrote Hurt at the farmdoc Daily blog, adding that futures prices in the spring and summer "will be high enough to provide profitability."
Trump remains on top in farm country
In the end, election night turned into a gentle blue wave, showing the nation as divided as ever. As expected, suburban voters pushed back against President Trump, giving control of the House back to the Democrats, while voters in rural areas doubled down on their support of the president, flipping the Senate seats in three ag-heavy states to the Republicans. <strong>(No paywall)</strong>
As China tightens its belt, U.S. soybeans feel the pinch
The giant of world soybean trade, China, will slash its soy imports by 10 percent this trade year under the dual effects of trade war with the United States and an outbreak of African swine fever, said the U.S. agriculture attache in Beijing. At the same time, USDA data show a sharp decline in soybean exports to all markets and a trade group said tit-for-tat tariffs are putting pressure on pork sales to China and Mexico.