Politics

RSS

The Department of Agriculture is proposing new criteria to determine if a livestock or poultry producer is receiving unfair treatment from a packer or integrator. 

The Trump administration is proposing to speed up the environmental reviews that are required on everything from new pipelines to grazing permits under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The Senate is moving ahead with the procedures needed to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement despite uncertainty over whether the impeachment process will bring the process to a halt.

Trade remains the top concern for American agriculture heading into 2020, with looming uncertainty about whether the Chinese will make promised increases in commodity purchases, and whether President Donald Trump will provide another round of trade assistance to U.S. producers. 

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is headed for easy approval on the Senate floor, but the uncertainty surrounding the impeachment process could mean farmers and ranchers will have to wait several more weeks for that final congressional vote.

It remains unclear if recent Chinese moves will translate into major gains for the biotech and farming sectors there and in the U.S.

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday easily approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with a bipartisan 25-to-3 vote, potentially setting the trade pact up for a speedy floor vote.

Georgia’s newest member of the Senate, Kelly Loeffler, will have a spot on the Senate Agriculture Committee, taking the place of Georgia Sen. David Perdue, who shifted to another panel.

A Senate committee will take up the House-passed implementing bill for the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement this week and the trade pact could advance quickly to the president's desk.

In a wide-ranging year-end interview, USTR Chief Agricultural Negotiator Gregg Doud offered more details about the "Phase One" deal with China, a long list of export accomplishments, and what to expect on trade in 2020.