Trade

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media China announced on Aug. 3 that it will impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, covering $60 billion worth of products, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and some agricultural products if the Trump administration proceeds with plans to impose tariffs on additional Chinese imports. A report published by the USDA includes a list of the proposed supplemental tariffs for food and agricultural products only. China said the tariffs are in response to the Trump administration’s Aug. 2 announcement to consider imposing a 25 ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Trump administration is considering raising the rate for pending tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, senior administration officials said Wednesday. “The Trump administration continues to urge China to stop its unfair practices, open its market, and engage in true market competition,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement. “We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake.  Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful ... Read More

The United States and Mexico are nearing a deal on key parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mexican and U.S. officials said Wednesday. Specifically, the negotiators are “getting close” to an agreement on auto rules of origin, which dictate how much of a vehicle must be made in the three NAFTA nations to qualify for duty-free status, according to the head of the trade and NAFTA office for Mexico, Guillermo Malpica. Meanwhile, White House Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Kevin Hassett said during a July 28 interview with Fox News that the United States is making ... Read More

The European Commission reported that imports of U.S. soybeans are up 283 percent from this time last year. The report, issued Aug. 1, serves as “the first concrete follow-up to the EU-U.S. joint statement agreed in Washington” between Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President Donald Trump, the Commission said. EU's total share of imports of U.S. soybeans has increased to 37 percent, up from 9 percent one year ago, according to the press release from the European Commission. The report also noted that the U.S. is now supplying 13 percent of EU soymeal imports, compared ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said they had reached an agreement in principle “to work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods,” during a Rose Garden event on July 25. As a result of the agreement, Trump said the EU would “almost immediately” begin making additional purchases of U.S. soybeans.  “This will open markets for farmers and workers, increase investment and lead to greater prosperity in both ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Trump administration announced on July 24 that it is committing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds to mitigate economic damage to farmers whose markets and crop prices have been damaged by the continuing trade disputes between the United States and China, the European Union, Canada and Mexico. President Donald Trump directed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to create a short-term relief strategy intended to protect agricultural producers while the administration continues negotiating trade deals. ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media; and Max Fisher, Director of Economics and Government Relations U.S. farmer leaders told House lawmakers this week that losses related to China’s tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods made in retaliation to the Trump administration’s tariffs are mounting daily. “It is quickly becoming more than we can handle. In trade wars, agriculture has been and continues to be the tip of the spear,” said Kevin Paap, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau, testifying before a House Ways and Means subcommittee hearing on the effects of ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Senators made a symbolic vote this week calling on President Donald Trump to obtain congressional approval before using national security as a reason for imposing tariffs on other nations. In a strong bipartisan vote, the Senate voted 88-11 on July 11 in favor of a non-binding resolution that supports giving Congress a vote before the president levies tariffs for national security purposes under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Trump cited national security concerns when he imposed steel and aluminum tariffs ... Read More

A report from Rabobank released this month summarizes the outlook for U.S. soybean exports, which it believes will continue to decline to China if tariffs take effect and remain in place. But the firm found U.S. soybean exports could increase to the European Union (EU). President Donald Trump announced in June his intent to impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of goods from China and threatened to impose tariffs on $400 billion more. Meanwhile, China is promising to retaliate with its own tariffs, including an additional 25 percent tax on U.S. soybean imports. “Given the risk of an ... Read More

Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized the Trump administration’s escalating tariff threats that are attracting retaliation on agricultural goods from China and other countries during a Senate Finance Committee hearing with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. Answering repeated questions on Wednesday about whether the United States is in a trade war with China and other countries, Ross responded: “We’ve been in a trade war forever. But now, U.S. forces are coming to the ramparts.” Several senators expressed concerns about retaliation against the U.S. agricultural sector, while ... Read More