Trade

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We asked Ambassador Terry Branstad ten questions about what's going on from his perspective in Beijing.

The “phase one” trade deal with China is paying off substantially for commodities like soybeans, corn, wheat and sorghum, but it’s hit or miss for specialty crop farmers, many of whom are still trying to find replacement markets.

President Donald Trump says the United States should look into ending trade deal provisions that allow for the imports of live cattle into the country, a remark that will surely catch the attention of North American trading partners.

After years of wrangling over sanitary and phytosanitary issues, China is opening its borders to U.S. blueberries and barley, sparking new optimism from farmers who are looking to expand exports.

The USDA is reporting sales of 396,000 metric tons of soybeans to China as the forecast for U.S. exports this year continues to rise on increasing Chinese demand.

U.S. farm groups are looking for big wins as U.S. negotiators push the U.K. to abandon European barriers to agricultural trade in the countries' first round of trade talks, according to industry officials aware of the proceedings.

Anti-biotech activists and sentiment are entrenched throughout Africa, but U.S. farm groups and businesses are hoping a free trade agreement with Kenya will help the country break through its GMO barriers and provide an example to other nations of what the science can do for farmers and food security.

The European Union's plan to buy up skim milk powder and butter from European producers is spurring U.S. producers to join in protest with farmers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Singapore, at the persistent insistence of USDA and the Pet Food Institute over the past two years, has lifted a ban on U.S. pet food containing bovine material, according to a new report from USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service.

The U.S. and China are making strong progress on implementing the “phase one” trade deal and both sides expect the pact will be successful despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.