Trade

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President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union speech Tuesday, presenting an upbeat vision of the country and focusing on his economic and regulatory successes that played well with his GOP base.

U.S. complaints that Europe wasn’t living up to a promise to import American beef were ignored for years, but that’s changed in the months since the Trump administration began considering retaliatory duties on European imports. Now the two sides are talking and it looks like a deal could be in the works.

There are some big changes taking place in the world's most populous nation, and they could have a big impact on U.S. agricultural trade.

When it comes to forging trade alliances around the globe, the European Union is moving at seemingly breakneck speed. The 28-country bloc is securing new and expanded markets in Asia, South America and North America at a time when the U.S. seems to be in neutral or even reverse.

Negotiations to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement entered a sixth round this week amid widespread concerns that without substantial progress, the 24-year-old pact among the U.S., Mexico and Canada could come to an end .

A possible merger between grain giants Archer Daniels Midland and Bunge would allow the companies to lower their costs by consolidating operations, but also would reduce competition in the ag marketplace, potentially hurting farmers already suffering from low commodity prices.