Trade

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The USDA is now moving to open the U.S. border to Chinese chicken amid final talks between the two countries to wrap up a partial trade pact that is promised to result in China increasing its imports of U.S. ag commodities.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators have agreed to eliminate some tariffs “in phases” as talks continue to finalize a partial Phase One trade deal, a spokesman for China’s Commerce Ministry said Thursday at a press conference in Beijing.

House Democrats and their demands to alter to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement are just one set of obstacles to ratification of the trade pact.

Despite a slow harvest, farmer optimism toward the ag economy strengthened in October.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a Clean Water Act case with major implications for agriculture, while farm groups who back a bipartisan ag labor bill will be lobbying lawmakers ahead of an expected House committee debate.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators still aim to finish the "phase one" trade deal by mid-November despite the cancellation of a summit in Chile where President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had planned to sign the pact, says Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steve Censky.

President Donald Trump and White House officials insist that China will be buying $40 billion to 50 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually over the next couple of years, if the countries nail down a trade deal in the coming weeks, but the question is whether U.S. farmers, processors and exporters could meet that challenge.

House Democrats emerged from negotiations Wednesday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with a newfound optimism that an agreement on the pact will soon be within reach.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still isn’t ready to hold a vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but the pace of talks between Democrats and the White House is picking up speed as both sides aim for ratification before the end of the year.

Global demand for U.S. ethanol has grown substantially over the last decade, but ongoing trade tensions, policy enforcement, and changing markets could set up potential roadblocks for the industry in the years ahead.