By Max Fisher, Vice President, Economics and Government Relations The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today (Sept. 18) provided information on an expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) that will provide up to $14 billion to agricultural producers. President Trump had announced the initiative during a campaign rally in Wisconsin the night before. According to the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) cost-benefit analysis, payments are projected to be split among producers in the following manner: Corn: $3.5 billion Soybeans: $1.4 billion Wheat: ... Read More
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WTO rules in favor of China on tariff dispute
By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel on Sept. 15 released a report detailing its findings in favor of China in its case against $200 billion in tariffs first levied by the United States on Chinese imports in 2018. This is the first time the WTO has ruled against tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. However, the ruling won’t have any immediate practical consequences because the United States is expected to appeal the decision and the WTO’s appellate body is unable the function anyway – as the United States has ... Read More
Sorghum and cotton received most MFP payments, GAO reports
By Max Fisher, Vice President of Economics and Government Relations At the request of the Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) produced a report reviewing the distribution of payments made in 2019 under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP). MFP payments also were paid to producers in 2018 to help compensate for trade disruptions with China and retaliatory Chinese tariffs targeting U.S. agricultural products. In a press statement, Stabenow claimed the report confirms ... Read More
Terry Branstad, Trump’s ambassador to China, steps down
The U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, announced Sept. 14 that he would step down from his post in early October. After he returns from Beijing to his home state of Iowa, where he served six terms as governor, Branstad is expected to hit the campaign trail for President Trump leading up to November election. When appointed as ambassador in 2016, Branstad was expected to leverage his decades-long relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But tensions over trade disputes and the coronavirus pandemic have defined the U.S.-China relationship over the last few years. In a ... Read More
HHS outlines ‘flexible playbook’ for free COVID-19 vaccinations
By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Sept. 16 issued what it termed a “flexible playbook” for providing vaccines designed to protect against the COVID-19 virus “across all population groups” once they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The 11-page document sketched out a multi-faceted plan for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or possibly later this year, eventually ramping up to reach any American who wants a shot by the second or third quarter of 2021. The campaign is “much larger ... Read More
Save the Date for a VIRTUAL 49th Annual Country Elevator Conference
The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) today officially announced that its 49th annual Country Elevator Conference and Trade Show (CEC) will be conducted virtually from Dec. 8-10. NGFA staff and industry leadership reached this decision after ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation with respect to large group gatherings like CEC, after evaluating the results of a survey conducted of past attendees and NGFA members and analyzing myriad ways to deliver rewarding virtual events. In addition, discussions with the Kansas City hotel ... Read More
Chemical Safety Board issues ‘Dust Hazard Learning Review’
By Jess McCluer, Vice President of Safety and Regulatory Affairs The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) on Sept. 10 released a new report, entitled the “Dust Hazard Learning Review,” which it conducted in response to the 2017 explosion incident at a Didion milling facility. The report is based on 57 responses to the CSB’s “Call to Action: Combustible Dust” which requested information from individuals and entities involved in the safe conduct of work within inherently dust-producing environments at risk for explosions. The agency sought input on a variety ... Read More
Carriers reply to NGFA-proposed changes to rate arbitration proposal
By Randy Gordon, President and CEO The five Class I railroads that petitioned the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) to create a rail rate arbitration program on Sept. 10 filed supplemental comments with the agency responding to a series of changes that had been recommended by NGFA. In its 14-page Aug. 20 statement to the STB, the NGFA had advised the agency to proceed with a rulemaking on the petition only if doing so does not delay the agency’s issuance of a final rule implementing a new, streamlined regulatory process that shippers could use to challenge unreasonable rail ... Read More
CFTC reports on risks of climate change to U.S. financial system
By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Climate change could pose systemic risks to the U.S. financial system, according a report published by a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) advisory panel on Sept. 9. “The central message of this report is that U.S. financial regulators must recognize that climate change poses serious emerging risks to the U.S. financial system, and they should move urgently and decisively to measure, understand and address these risks,” noted the report, dubbed Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System. The report, ... Read More
International organizations urge governments to support digital transmission system of phytosanitary certificates
By Sarah Gonzalez, Director of Communications and Digital Media Industry associations that represent the global trade of plant-based agricultural products called on governments to support the adoption of a digital transmission system for phytosanitary certificates, known as “ePhyto,” to facilitate international agricultural trade. In a Sept. 9 press release, the Industry Advisory Group (IAG) of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto Solution, which includes the International Grain Trade Coalition of which NGFA is a member, said that ePhyto is a “globally uniform ... Read More
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