House Republicans are down in Florida today trying to hash out plans for the budget reconciliation process that’s critical to President Donald Trump’s spending and tax priorities. Monday evening, Trump appealed to the GOP rank and file to get unified behind the agenda.
“You have to stick together,” Trump said. “It’s the one thing I would say we don’t get very high marks [on]. Everything is so hard. We always have two, or three, or five or something, people who just don’t want to do it. You’ve just got to do it.”
By the way: Trump spent a significant portion of his remarks to the GOP doubling down on his plans to use tariffs to protect U.S. industries. He stressed targeting specific products, steel, aluminum, copper, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
“We're going to protect our people and our businesses, and we're going to protect our country with tariffs,” he said. He cited Sunday’s trade spat with Colombia as proof that tariffs — or the threats of tariffs — can get results.
Craig: Farm bill commodity title unfair to Midwest
The House Ag Committee’s new top Democrat wants to adjust the proposed changes to reference prices that were included in last year’s farm bill.
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“I know Midwest producers felt a little like they didn't get much out of the farm bill. … I'm going to be learning a lot about the rest of the country, but I'm sure going to be fighting for equity, equitable distribution, of the farm bill to producers across our nation,” Angie Craig, D-Minn., told reporters after a panel discussion with House Ag Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in San Antonio.
Read our report on their discussion here.
Study: Canada, Mexico to lose big from tariff plans, others may gain
A new study finds that if Trump implements proposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, the U.S.’ neighbors stand to suffer the most. On the other hand, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Vietnam would benefit from diverted trade flows.
Trump has suggested a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico and a 10% duty on Chinese products could come as soon as Saturday. If enacted, the proposals would reduce Canadian prosperity by more than 10% and Mexico’s by nearly 7%, a joint study from researchers in China, Australia and the U.S. finds.
The U.S. and China, meanwhile, would suffer only small losses to economic prosperity of less than 1%.
Remember: Researchers found the losses will be highly concentrated in the soybean, corn, ethanol, wheat and dairy sectors. Accordingly, Illinois and Nebraska stand to lose more than $1 billion in export losses, while Iowa’s losses could top $2 billion.
Mexico’s Sheinbaum introduces proposal to ban domestic GM corn
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is proposing a constitutional amendment to ban the growth of genetically modified corn in the country.
In a statement posted to X, the leader of Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies said the chamber had received a proposal from the president to modify two articles of the constitution. The reform would designate corn a part of Mexico’s “national identity” and guarantee corn grown in the country is “free from genetic modification,” according to an unofficial translation.
Ricardo Monreal, the chamber’s leader, said processing the constitutional amendment would be a “priority” for the legislature.
Reminder: A U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement dispute resolution panel ruled against Mexico last year when the U.S. challenged its ban on GM corn in tortillas and dough. Sheinbaum suggested last month that Mexico would lift the ban because the legislature would take up legislation to codify restrictions on domestic production.
USDA to lead Thailand trade mission, planning Hong Kong mission
USDA will be leading a trade mission to Thailand next month to bolster Southeast Asia-U.S. trade. The department is also taking applications for a mission to Hong Kong slated for May.
USDA says Thailand’s growing middle class offers promise for U.S. exporters of consumer products and opportunities to expand trade outside the bulk commodities that currently dominate.
Meanwhile, the department sees Hong Kong as a gateway to markets in south China and Southeast Asia.
Appeals court sides with AGCO in patent dispute
A federal appeals court has found equipment manufacturer AGCO did not infringe on two seed delivery product patents belonging to John Deere. Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an earlier ruling from a U.S. district court in Delaware, denying Deere’s request for a new trial following a jury verdict that AGCO did not infringe Deere’s patents with its SpeedTube and vSet2 seed delivery systems.
AGCO applauded the ruling in a statement. A Deere spokesperson declined to comment on the decision.
Ag producers seek legislation to deal with labor issues
Deportations are on the mind of many in the agricultural industry, some of whom are calling on Congress yet again to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
“While we remove dangerous individuals, we must also protect law-abiding immigrant workers who are vital to sectors like agriculture, health care, construction and manufacturing,” said Rebecca Shi, CEO of the American Business Immigration Coalition.
“Some sort of opportunity for legal status for [immigrant] workers would be really valuable,” Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, said on a webinar Monday hosted by the ABIC. The FWMA would provide a path to legal immigration status and citizenship for farmworkers.
Growers “desperately need … sensible immigration labor reform,” said Tony DiMare of Florida tomato grower DiMare Homestead. He said he supports targeting of criminals who are “not upholding the laws of this country and creating fear, and jeopardizing the safety and welfare of American citizens.”
At the AFBF annual meeting, Arizona Farm Bureau President John Boelts, said on a labor panel, “Those of us in agriculture have always said, ‘Congress, however you want to do it is up to you. That’s above our pay grade. But here’s what agriculture needs’.”
Final word
“I really don't have a time frame for the farm bill, except to say that sooner than later, because the longer that we wait until the fall, the more likely we're going to have to come back next December and ask for more economic disaster relief.” – House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., speaking at the AFBF annual meeting with the panel’s ranking member, Angie Craig, D-Minn.
