Articles by Bill Tomson

Mexico appears to be moving quickly to prepare for an influx of U.S. potatoes and U.S. farmers are already looking forward to increased sales across the southern border, says National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles.

The U.S. Court of International Trade has agreed to take into consideration arguments by five major U.S. farm groups against a decision this year by the U.S. International Trade Commission to allow tariffs to be placed on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco and Russia.

President Joe Biden’s effort to amass partners for challenging China is taking shape, and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is working to rekindle ties with historical allies such as Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom while forging new bonds with countries such as India and Vietnam.

Canada has halted all shipments of potatoes from Prince Edward Island to the United States after the discovery of the highly transmissible fungus synchytrium endobioticum – better known as potato wart – in commercial fields.

India has blocked the imports of U.S. pork for years, demanding conditions for the trade that the U.S. has not been willing to accept, but the country is now promising to end the regulatory delays, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is meeting with high-level trade officials and reconvening the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum to discuss India’s steep tariffs and other trade barriers, many of which are preventing or dampening U.S. exports of tree nuts, apples and dairy to the second-most populous nation in the world.

House Democrats who were poised to pass the $1.7 trillion Build Back Better bill last night decided to recess until this morning, after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy took the floor to speak at about 8:38 p.m. and kept talking until past 1 a.m.

The Environmental Protection Agency is drawing ire from the renewable fuel industry for once more delaying the rollout of mandates for how much ethanol refiners must blend into gasoline.

Workers at John Deere plants have agreed to a six-year collective bargaining deal after a month-long strike by more than 10,000 employees at 14 facilities, according to statement released by the company and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.

Congress is facing a Dec. 3 deadline to avert another government shutdown. That’s when the continuing resolution that’s currently funding the government runs out. But Republicans say they won’t agree to a fiscal 2022 spending deal any time soon.