The 119th Congress kicks off today at noon, with the swearing in of new members – and the election of a House speaker. After meeting with conservative holdouts Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson was expressing confidence that he’s going to get re-elected relatively easily. Johnson told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow that he thought the voting would take just one ballot.
By the way: Kudlow has been publicly pushing for Republicans to use their first reconciliation bill to extend the Trump tax cuts. Johnson told Kudlow Republicans have several priority issues, including taxes and border security, to address “all in one big shot.” But Johnson cautioned, “Some of those negotiations by design take a long time, because you’ve got to get it right.”
USDA: U.S. beef exports could face tariff hikes from China import probe
China is investigating whether beef imports are harming its domestic cattle industry. If Beijing finds they are, USDA says that U.S. beef imports could face higher tariffs.
Beijing launched a safeguard investigation last week into whether imports are harming domestic industry after wholesale beef prices tumbled in 2024. China’s cattle industry says rising imports from large suppliers of low-cost beef like Brazil are to blame.
Any effort to protect the domestic industry, USDA says, would likely apply to all Chinese imports, including the roughly $1.5 billion from the U.S – even though the premium U.S. beef is not a direct competitor with the Chinese product.
Keep in mind: “South American beef and a lot of the other commodity beef that enters China competes more closely with [Chinese] domestic product than U.S. beef,” the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Joe Schuele told Agri-Pulse. “Our closest competitor in China would really be the Australian grain-fed beef.”
“Those are facts that are fairly obvious to us, but whether they have any bearing on the investigation or not – it’s too soon to tell,” Schuele said.
Frontrunner in German elections pushes for new EU-U.S. FTA
The frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, wants to revive talks on a transatlantic free trade agreement.
The Obama administration launched negotiations on a trade and investment agreement with the European Union, but President Donald Trump shelved the effort in his first term. Merz is running for chancellor in Germany’s snap election in February, which was triggered after incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a vote of confidence in parliament.
“A new European-American initiative for mutual free trade could prevent a dangerous tariff spiral," Merz, who leads the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, told Germany’s press agency DPA on Thursday.
Merz also argued that the EU should prepare for higher tariffs under a second Trump administration but shouldn’t necessarily retaliate.
"Our response to this should not be to start imposing tariffs as well,” he said.
Survey: Deployment costs, customer distances barriers to fiber expansion
Internet providers say deployment costs are the biggest barrier to expanding fiber access. That’s according to a new survey conducted by NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association.
About 91% of 228 broadband providers surveyed called the cost of deployment “the most significant barrier to widespread fiber deployment,” while two-thirds said long distances to customers were a challenge. Just under half cited regulatory uncertainty as a barrier.
Take note: Only 14.5% of respondents said supply chain delays were a major problem, while a mere 9.3% said the same of low customer demand.
And there’s this: NTCA reported progress in getting broadband to remote areas. “Despite operating in rural areas where the average density is less than seven locations per mile, approximately 89% of respondents’ customers on average can receive downstream speeds greater than or equal to 100 megabits per second, up from 84% in 2023.”
Walmart recalls broccoli due to possible listeria contamination
Bags of broccoli sold at hundreds of Walmart stores in 20 states have been recalled over possible listeria contamination. Braga Fresh also has voluntarily advised against consuming specific bags of washed and ready-to-eat Marketside Broccoli Florets.
The affected broccoli’s “best if used by” date was Dec. 10 and so it should no longer be in stores. So far, there are no illnesses associated with the product, FDA said.
Bird flu in dairy cattle is not causing milk shortages, Dykes says
Michael Dykes, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, says he’s not concerned yet about milk supply shortages, despite the ongoing outbreak of avian flu in dairy cattle.
“Yes, some of the milk production has been down in some of these states when they’re going through a heavy infection,” he says in an interview for Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. “But I don’t think we’ll see supply chain problems as a result of that.”
Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
Final word
Longtime Senate policy adviser Terry Van Doren is leaving the Hill. Van Doren spent the last decade with outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.
“From my early days as a legislative assistant for my home state [Illinois] Senator Peter Fitzgerald to my first tenure with Leader McConnell, to serving Secretary of Agriculture and then-Senator Mike Johanns, and finally returning to Leader McConnell for a decade-long tour of duty, every chapter has been rewarding,” Van Doren said in a farewell note.
“Working with each of these Senators and their talented teams has been an incredible journey of learning and growth. I am deeply grateful to them for investing in me, believing in me, and providing opportunities I could never have dreamed of as a farm kid.”
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com
