WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2016 - U.S. and EU negotiators wrapped
up the 15th round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)
negotiations last week under general expectations that there will not be a
final deal reached this year. The next round is scheduled for Nov. 11, but
don’t expect the U.S. agriculture sector to remain dormant on trade issues
until then.
Later today, the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), together with
the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council,
will release a 60-page analysis of just how costly the EU’s demands on
Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs) in T-TIP would be if the U.S. agreed
to them.
The Europeans are trying to exclude hundreds of food names to very specific
products that are often produced in specific regions – like Parmesan cheese –
while the U.S. food industry believes the names should be available to all.
The report was commissioned by CCFN and conducted by Informa Economics IEG.
National Milk Producers Federation CEO Jim Mulhern and U.S. Dairy Export
Council President Tom Suber will conduct a teleconference today to announce the
findings of the analysis. Don’t forget to check back in with Agri-Pulse for
coverage of the report soon after it’s released at 11 a.m. ET.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is scheduled to speak at the U.S.
Dairy Export Council’s Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. on Thursday.
Brazil record soybean harvest could have been bigger. Brazil is now
forecast to produce a record 101 million metric tons of soybeans this year, but
the South American giant could have had an even bigger year if not for the
economy.
“Brazil is forecast to have the slowest area growth in the last five years, attributed
to an higher expected cost of production, tight credit policies, higher
interest rates, the economic downturn, and soybean areas shifting back to
full-season corn,” USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service said in a newly
released report.
Brazil is also forecast to have record-breaking soybean exports. Rising demand
from China and a weakening Brazilian currency will push Brazilian exports
higher than ever in the 2016-17 marketing year, the report said. Exports are
now expected to reach 57 million tons, up from 52 million in 2015-16. Exports
likely would be even bigger, but the government recently increased its mandate for
biodiesel production and that’s keeping more of the country’s crops in the
country.
Ag coalition to EPA: Farm-raised feedstocks aren’t fossil fuels. The
Biogenic CO2 Coalition is stepping up its pressure on the EPA to not regulate
carbon emissions on biomass that’s used for energy production. The coalition,
made up of groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Corn
Growers Association, the Corn Refiners Association and the National Cotton
Council have sent letters to both the Trump and Clinton campaigns,
asking for their support.
“The bioeconomy is poised for exponential growth, but is struggling against an
existential roadblock in the form of policies of the (EPA) which fail to
recognize the carbon benefits of agricultural biomass,” the coalition argues in
the letters. “EPA is regulating CO2 emissions from production facilities, such
as biorefineries, bakeries, breweries, oil seed processors, and
agriculture-derived fuel producers, as if they were fossil-based emissions.
Because EPA is putting a price on carbon through its Clean Power Plan and other
policies, this effectively results in an emissions tax on American farms and
farm products.”
FDA reminds food companies about looming deadlines. The Food and Drug
Administration is reaching out to the food companies to remind them of 2018
deadlines for big changes in industry requirements. Making major changes such
as reformulating food products and changing labels can be time intensive and
2018 is going to be a big year for deadlines, the FDA said in a recent notice
to the industry.
By June 18, 2018, most food companies have to be certain they have completely removed
all partially hydrogenated oils from their products. About a month
later, on July 26, large food companies with more that $10 million in annual
food sales will need to make sure they have changed their nutrition labeling to
meet new FDA requirements.
July 26 is also the deadline for
new labeling requirements on food in vending machines.
Trump hits Clinton on open-hemisphere speech. Donald Trump went after
Hillary Clinton over a leaked speech excerpt where she said she dreamed of a
hemispheric common market with open borders and trade. “Do you know what that
does to your community? That’s the end,” Trump said during a speech in
Ambridge, Pa., yesterday. “In other words, she wants the United States to
surrender to global governance with no controls over trade or
immigration.”
Clinton made the remarks in a speech to officials with a Brazilian bank. The
quote was contained in the Wikileaks document dump that
came out last Friday. However, it was buried by news about lewd and disparaging
comments that Trump made in 2005 about women - caught on an open mic. Clinton’s
speech excerpts would have almost currently been more damaging if it had come
out earlier or at another other time than Friday.
Trump also repeated his attacks on NAFTA and his charge that she secretly
supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
But as
we reported on her speech in Toledo, Ohio last week, Clinton has
reiterated her opposition to the TPP. “I oppose TPP now, I will oppose it after
the election, I will oppose it as president… because it is one-sided and unfair
to American workers.”
He said it: “She called it the gold standard. And by the way, at the last
debate, she lied, because it turned out that she did say the gold standard and
she said she didn’t say it. They actually said that she lied. OK? And she lied.
But she’s lied about a lot of things.”
That was Donald Trump, arguing during the Sunday debate that Hillary Clinton
actually supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal even though she has
said she does not.
Phil Brasher contributed to this report.
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