Trade
Do tariffs fuel inflation? John Phipps’s Customer Support segment explains why economists have struggled to come up with estimates of economic effects due to lingering COVID influence on world business.
“We have tried to work constructively with the Mexican government to address these concerns, but, unfortunately, U.S. companies continue to face unfair treatment in Mexico,” said Ambassador Tai.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.
According to the Office of the USTR, the safeguard will allow U.S. exporters to meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef while minimizing the odds that Japan will increase tariffs.
Estimates of when new routes will be regular shipping lanes keep advancing. It looks like the long-awaited transpolar shipping route could be a real thing around 2050. John Phipps explains why and the possible impact
Mexico’s duty suspension is likely to benefit European pork and Brazilian poultry, while beef imports remain relatively unchanged.
The U.S.-China trade war began in July 2018 when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods. Nearly four years later, the debate remains as to which country actually won.
Higher prices at the grocery store don’t seem to be causing consumers to veer away from the meat counter. Robust meat demand abroad is also setting sail, despite inflation and shipping struggles.
John Phipps says positive or negative, any trade balance has dubious value, and only limited prediction power. Other than bragging rights, they mean little with no economic advantage for having a positive trade balance.
The commodity markets came under pressure to start the week as traders tried to shed risk over shipping concerns in China as COVID-19 concerns caused officials to shut down transportation amid a two-pronged lockdown.
Lawmakers introduce a bill to send an energy rebate any month the national average gas price exceeds $4 per gallon for the remainder of 2022.
With the U.S. on the back end of COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine unraveling, USTR Katherine Tai says her office is currently focused on three themes: resilience, sustainability and competition.
Expect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to dominate the State of the Union address tonight. As for issues affecting agriculture, there may be few details offered, says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
China will buy 40,000 tonnes of pork for its central state reserves this week, in the first round of such stockpiling this year, China Merchandise Reserve Management Center said on Monday.
The top 10 export markets all saw gains in 2021, with six of the 10 (China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines and Colombia) setting new records.
U.S. goods exports to China fell in December, cementing a $45 billion increase in the 2021 U.S.-China trade deficit and a major two-year shortfall in Beijing’s purchase commitments under the “Phase 1" trade deal.
Rep. Garamendi says the USDA partnership with the Port of Oakland “isn’t going to solve the problem” because shippers deliver product to the U.S. and leave ports with empty containers.
High-level talks between the U.S. and China yielded no major outcome Monday night. From human rights issues to crypto mining, leaders talked about a number of issues. Trade was mentioned but was not a priority topic.
China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries’ top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world’s biggest economies.
“The shirts you and I are wearing today say where they come from, but the beef we put in the center of our plate doesn’t have to bear that label,” Sen. John Thune told Chip Flory on AgriTalk about mandatory COOL.
USDA is out with its new ag export forecast for both this year and next, and it’s showing exports could hit $173.5 billion in 2021, $4 billion more than 2020, due to higher livestock, poultry and dairy exports.
Shipping issues continue to surface. The latest is in China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan container port, which is the third-busiest in the world, and has been partially shut down for six days, with no sign of reopening yet.
U.S. and Chinese officials met face-to-face for high-level talks, and the meeting had a tense tone as the countries remain at odds over issues from cyber security to human rights.
Demand for pork and grains is helping propel prices in 2021, and USDA is forecasting it to be a record year.
Talks between Argentine policymakers and meat industry officials are on track to reach a deal on re-opening exports, officials said, days ahead of the expiration of the government’s month-long suspension of shipments.
Argentine meat producers will intensify talks with the government aimed at lifting the one-month suspension of beef exports that was declared in mid-May, the country’s Agroindustrial Council (CAA) said in a statement.
USTR Katherine Tai on Monday told the European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, that she has a “strong desire to develop a more positive and productive” trade relationship with the EU.
Farmers for Free Trade wants to see a full implementation of the Phase One trade agreement. A year into the deal, there are still accountability and compliance issues with China.
In a unanimous Senate vote on Wednesday, Katharine Tai was confirmed as the next U.S. Trade Representative. The trade expert was confirmed with a vote of 98-0.
While trade is not a headline of the Biden Administration in the first 100 days, it’s not stopping Katherine Tai from making her voice heard. Tai is now waiting full confirmation vote to put her ideas to work.