Trade

RSS

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai pledged at USDA's Ag Outlook Forum to continue fighting a Mexican ban on biotech corn imports, and she played down the U.S. trade deficit on agricultural products. Two U.S. ambassadors encouraged American ag exporters to take advantage of sales opportunities in Vietnam and the Philippines.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned lawmakers Wednesday that the Supreme Court’s decision upholding California’s Proposition 12 could lead to “chaos,” if other states follow suit in imposing their own standards for food products.

A longstanding court case over salmon declines in the Columbia and Snake rivers will see a five-to-ten-year pause after a federal judge agreed to give the Biden Administration, four Northwestern tribes, an assortment of environmental groups and the states of Washington and Oregon additional time to test out a $1 billion agreement intended to resolve the dispute.

The Department of Agriculture lowered its U.S. soybean export forecast as Brazilian competition hinders American sales in key foreign markets.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith has asked the International Trade Commission, an independent panel that advises Congress and the executive branch, to investigate the impact of export restrictions on the U.S. rice industry.

The Senate this week tackles a bipartisan border security compromise that likely faces unsurmountable opposition from House Republicans and former President Donald Trump.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s index of global food commodity prices eased again in January, led by lower prices for grains and meat, and is down 10.4% from a year ago.