Trade

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on May 17 said negotiators are “nowhere near close to a deal” to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but said the U.S. delegation will continue working with Mexico and Canada “to achieve needed breakthroughs” on intellectual property, dairy and agriculture, energy, labor and other issues, where Lighthizer said “gaping differences” remain. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., earlier had said Congress would need to be notified of a new deal by May 17 to give lawmakers time to approve it before next year. During a press briefing ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media The Trump administration is mindful of protecting agriculture in its negotiations with China, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Senate appropriators on May 10. “We’re all well aware that it’s horribly unfair for one industry to bear the brunt of retaliation, in our efforts to help other parts of the economy,” Ross said. “So, we will do our level best to minimize the problem and to maximize the support we can provide.” Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and other Trump administration officials spent time ... Read More

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue jointly announced this week that the United States on May 4 had submitted a counter-notification to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Committee on Agriculture citing “several areas of potential concern” with the information provided by India to the WTO on its market price supports for wheat and rice. The administration said the action represented the first-ever notification to the Committee on Agriculture under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture regarding another country’s price support measures. “The ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media USDA’s Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney expressed confidence in the Trump administration finalizing a better deal for agriculture in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as well as other trade accords. During an address at the Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit on May 13 attended by NGFA, McKinney summarized his observations about the potential for negotiating greater market access with various trading partners around the globe, noting that tensions are high, ... Read More

A high-ranking delegation comprised of the Trump administration’s top economic officials began meetings on the afternoon and evening of May 3 in Beijing with Chinese government officials over what was expected to be a wide range of bilateral trade issues. Prior to the discussions, Chinese government officials said they would not accept any U.S. preconditions for negotiations, such as abandoning its long-term advanced manufacturing goals or narrowing the trade gap by $100 billion as sought by President Trump. The U.S. delegation is led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and ... Read More

President Donald Trump extended by one month a temporary exemption from steel and aluminum tariffs for Canada, Mexico and the European Union, the White House announced late on April 30.  Tariffs of 25 percent for steel imports and 10 percent for aluminum had been set to take effect at midnight Tuesday, but Trump’s announcement allows three of the U.S.’ largest trading partners until June 1 to reach an agreement with the administration. The president announced in March his intention to set tariffs for steel and aluminum imports in response to the U.S. Commerce Department’s ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media During a U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing focused on China’s agricultural policies, U.S. agricultural and trade leaders discussed China’s barriers to imports as well as strategies to improve the two countries’ trade relationship. “Agricultural imports are viewed as a suitable, and in some ways ideal, means for retaliation against U.S. trade actions,” wrote U.S. Grains Council President and CEO Tom Sleight in his written testimony for the April 26 hearing. “While China imports large amounts of U.S. ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on April 24, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said President Trump is committed to protecting agriculture in his trade negotiations with China. Perdue acknowledged Trump’s “unique negotiating style,” but noted that the president has promised him he would not allow the agricultural sectors to “be the casualties in this trade dispute.” He also noted past administrations’ strategies to work with China to correct its trade policies have fallen flat. “I applaud the President for ... Read More

By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Marketing Effective April 18, China began imposing duties of almost 179 percent on U.S. sorghum imports. China’s Ministry of Commerce said that Chinese importers of U.S. sorghum will be required to put down a 178.6 percent deposit, even on sorghum cargoes already en route, in anticipation of the anti-dumping tariffs. China had initiated an investigation into U.S. sorghum imports in February. China imported more than 5.2 million metric tons of U.S. sorghum during the last marketing year. The National Sorghum Producers (NSP) ... Read More

By Randy Gordon, President The Asia-Pacific Working Group of the broad-based U.S. Food and Agriculture Dialogue for Trade on April 19 urged President Trump and his administration to expeditiously begin “intense, high-level negotiations” with the Chinese government to resolve distortive trade practices before the imposition of additional tariffs “that would harm both countries.” The group also urged the president to use bilateral or multilateral negotiations to reengage in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as additional leverage during ... Read More