Oliver Ward

Congressional leaders were nailing down the final details of a stopgap spending bill Monday night that was expected to include $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, as well as a one-year farm bill extension, sources tell Agri-Pulse.

A group of House Republicans has appealed to President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate trade agreements that open new markets for U.S. cotton farmers during his second term.

The chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee that handles trade policy says he’s concerned about the U.S. becoming embroiled in tit-for-tat tariff escalations that could lead to ag producers facing new duties. 

Lawmakers continue what’s described as “intense negotiations” over what’s going to be included with a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. It’s not clear yet that GOP leaders will agree to add a package of market relief for farmers.

The Mexican government is stressing the benefits of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement to the United States amid President-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and preparations for the trade deal's forthcoming review – in which market access for U.S. agriculture could feature prominently. 

Former U.S. Trade Representative and trade policy architect Robert Lighthizer has so far been overlooked for key economic policy roles — a move some who worked closely with him say could hamper Trump's trade policymaking.

Seventy-seven Nobel laureates in medicine, economics, physics and chemistry are urging senators not to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Proposals to reform the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s constitution and governing processes represent a Chinese effort to expand Beijing’s global influence and undermine U.S. agricultural leadership, a group of Republicans say.

The European Union and the Mercosur countries have concluded negotiations on a long-anticipated trade deal that would cut tariffs and reduce trade barriers on a slate of agriculture products.