The ‘New NAFTA’ will Boost AG Exports By 1.1%
Successful Farming – 04/19/2019
U.S. food and agricultural exports would increase by $2.2 billion, or 1.1%, with full implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to NAFTA, said the U.S. International Trade Commission in a 379-page report issued Thursday. “Most trade in agricultural products between the United States, Canada, and Mexico is already duty-free under NAFTA and would continue to be duty-free under USMCA.” The ITC report, which moves the USMCA a step closer to congressional review, said the trade pact “would lead to small increases in U.S. exports to Canada of dairy products, poultry meat, eggs, and egg-containing products, as well as wheat and alcoholic beverages. At the same time, it would lead to a small increase in U.S. imports of sugar and sugar-containing products and dairy products from Canada.”
U.S., China Officials to Resume Trade Talks April 30 in Beijing
Bloomberg – 04/23/2019
Trade negotiators led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing next week, the White House said, as both sides work to reach a draft agreement by next month. Talks starting next Tuesday “will cover trade issues including intellectual property, forced technology transfer, non-tariff barriers, agriculture, services, purchases and enforcement,” the White House said in a statement. Chinese officials led by Vice Premier Liu He planned to then head to Washington for discussions starting on May 8, the White House said.
US Ag Groups Roll Out Japan Agreement Wish List
Agri-Pulse – 04/24/2019
Japan and the U.S. appear to be moving quickly on a free-trade agreement, but U.S. ag groups from across the country are pouring on the pressure for negotiators to move in a hurry. The urgency lies in the fact that every day, U.S. farmers, ranchers, packers, vintners and bakers are losing sales to Japan as foreign competitors lock in new business under preferential conditions. The Trump administration has promised to move expeditiously, perhaps even securing a quick, ag only, deal with Japan and ag groups joined together this week to demand that officials like U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer follow through. The message is clear: The U.S. ag sector wants equal or better tariff terms than competitors in other countries that already have free trade agreements with the Japanese.
Winter Wheat Crop in Great Shape, but Diseases are Sneaking in
Successful Farming – 04/19/2019
As a whole, heading into late April, the nation’s winter wheat crop is in as good shape as it has been for years. Yet some faults are beginning to show, according to Erick DeWolf, Extension plant pathologist at Kansas State University. In Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska – traditionally the nation’s largest region of winter wheat production – foliar diseases are beginning to show in isolated areas. In southwest Oklahoma, leaf rust has been spotted in a few areas, where the wheat has headed out, according to Bob Hunger, Extension plant pathologist at Oklahoma State University. “Foliar diseases are still at low incidence across Oklahoma but there is the indication that leaf rust is increasing across southern Oklahoma,” he wrote in a report he writes each week. “Given the present and short-term forecast for temperature and moisture, I expect leaf rust to increase. These conditions also are favorable for stripe rust and powdery mildew, but the seeming sparseness of these two foliar diseases at this point in time indicates that in a typical year we are more at risk from leaf rust than we are from stripe rust or powdery mildew.”
KSU, IGP Host Grain Purchasing Training
World-Grain –04/23/2019
Kansas State University’s (KSU) IGP Institute held the annual IGP-KSU grain purchasing course from April 1-12. Sixteen participants joined the IGP Institute for the course to gain a better understanding on grain purchasing and management practices. This training also included a field trip to an export facility located in Portland, Oregon, U.S. “The IGP-KSU grain purchasing course was a big success,” said Guy H. Allen, senior agricultural economist for the IGP Institute. “The participants were able to gain great knowledge on the importance of grain procurement contracts and the supply chain on an international level and focus on the importance of risk management strategy.” The first week of the course focused on the fundamentals of grain purchasing, including topics on grain transportation; USDA grading standards and how they are implemented; how to read a USDA report; examination of world grain supply and demand; grain trading rules; and international trade contracts, among other things. “This course gave me the opportunity to become more familiar with the grain industry,” said Rolando Solis, charter merger for MF Grains in Panama City, Panama. “The specifics in the grain industry are still new to me. This course definitely helped me learn a lot about key concepts in grain purchasing and risk management.”
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates