Senior U.S. and Chinese officials discuss trade in Paris this week, while some farmers hit Capitol Hill as concern over a fragile agriculture economy deepens amid the war with Iran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are set to hold talks in the French capital through Monday ahead of President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing starting March 31.
Soybean exports to China – the world’s biggest buyer of the oilseed used in everything from salad dressing and shampoo to biofuels and hog feed – are likely to come up. Trump last month said China may agree to buy more ag products from the U.S., including soy.
U.S. agriculture has no shortage of issues with China that many are hoping the administration will take up.
Beijing allowed export registrations for most U.S. beef slaughter plants to expire last year, the U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Joe Schuele recently told Agri-Pulse.
China also continues to ban raw poultry exports from some states, despite the states meeting the criteria to have the bans lifted under the Phase One deal’s regionalization protocol.
We “are hopeful that is something that is brought up during the negotiations,” USA Poultry and Egg Export Council President Greg Tyler told Agri-Pulse Friday.
The stakes are high for farmers preparing for spring plantings as the U.S. war with Iran upends global markets for fuel, fertilizer and transportation. Crop growers were already struggling to stay afloat, prompting $12 billion in aid from the Trump administration.
The meeting also comes as new tensions flare between the two nations.
The Trump administration last week began investigations of China and dozens of other trading partners that could lead to new tariffs.
The trade cases, which focus on economies’ efforts to keep products made with forced labor out of their markets and excess industrial capacity, could be a “slippery slope” for the U.S., Marc Busch, a professor in international business diplomacy at Georgetown, told Agri-Pulse.
Applying tariffs on countries because they haven’t taken steps to crack down on imported products made with forced labor might be more “politically palatable” for Democrats than previous tariffs, he said, but would leave the U.S. vulnerable to retaliation over its own policies.
“The [European Union] would love to argue the exact same thing on animal welfare,” Busch said. “I wonder whether there's been much consideration about the defensive liability being set up here.”
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Administration promises fertilizer help
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters on Friday that Trump is highly aware of the challenge ag producers face with surging fertilizer prices.
“We are very close to having an announcement on some solutions,” Rollins said. “We’re looking at every potential avenue to keep the fertilizer cost down.”
On Friday, the Treasury Department announced measures to facilitate purchases of Venezuelan fertilizer. The country is able to produce some 3 million tons of urea, and slightly less ammonia, but is a minor exporter, with infrastructure issues limiting production.
The White House is also weighing temporarily relaxing shipping restrictions on domestic cargo in an effort to ease commodity prices.
But absent ending the war, there are no short-term policy fixes for the high fertilizer prices, Mark Milam, senior editor for fertilizers at Independent Commodity Intelligence Services told Agri-Pulse Friday.
The administration doesn’t “have that mechanism,” he said.
Rollins added that she’s had conversations with lawmakers as they consider additional farm aid. Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., and Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., are targeting around $15 billion, though that amount is subject to change.
Washington’s scrutiny of the fertilizer market is ramping up.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote last week to five of the biggest fertilizer producers as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi asking for assurance that the companies aren’t engaged in price gouging or market manipulation in the wake of the conflict in Iran.
Bloomberg News reported March 4 that the Justice Department is investigating the U.S. fertilizer market for possible price fixing.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, wants his fertilizer bill with Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., to be included in the upcoming Senate farm bill. The legislation would require the Department of Agriculture to study competition in the fertilizer market and the impact on price.
Corn, ethanol sectors lobby for E15 provision
Farmers from across the Corn Belt will have a chance to discuss fertilizer and more when they visit with lawmakers this week. Members of the South Dakota-based American Coalition for Ethanol are gathering in Washington for an annual policy summit and fly-in. The need for legislation to allow year-round and nationwide sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15, is sure to be at the top of the agenda.
“Both chambers will be in session, and in an election year, timing matters,” ACE Chief Executive Officer Brian Jennings said.
The House returns to work Monday with Republican leaders under heightened pressure to deliver an E15 bill.
Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, told Agri-Pulse he expects an E15 bill to be introduced this week. Feenstra, who is running for governor of Iowa, is co-chair of a congressional council trying to find a way forward on E15 after a deal for a bill fell apart in January when independent oil refiners rejected a provision to limit the number of refiners eligible for exemptions from federal biofuel-blending rules.
Japan’s prime minister in DC
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is in Washington this week for a meeting with Trump. In comments to Japanese media, the PM has vowed to be “candid” with the U.S. president on the impacts of the war in Iran. But lawmakers are hoping the Trump presses her on U.S. potatoes.
In a letter to the president last week, more than 60 lawmakers urged him to raise the issue. The U.S. industry has long complained that Japanese officials have dragged their feet on discussions to open their market to fresh U.S. potatoes.
Securing access to the Japanese market “would create a massive tailwind under our industry,” Kam Quarles, CEO of the National Potato Council, told Agri-Pulse last week.
Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EDT):
Monday, March 16
3 p.m. – USDA releases its biannual Hop Stocks.
3 p.m. – USDA releases its outlook for livestock, dairy and poultry
5:30 p.m. – Senate Ag Committee meeting to consider the nomination of Glen Smith to be under secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development, S-216, President’s Room.
Tuesday, March 17
The American Coalition for Ethanol hosts its annual Washington fly-in and government affairs summit, through Wednesday, Hilton Capitol Hill.
10 a.m. – House Ways and Means subcommittee, "Advancing America’s Interests at the World Trade Organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference," 1100 Longworth.
10 a.m. – Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden delivers the keynote at the University of Arkansas’ Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series.
10:15 a.m. – The House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the critical mineral commodity supply chain, 1324 Longworth.
Wednesday, March 18
The Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference, through Friday. Mayflower Marriott Hotel.
10 a.m. – Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee hearing on the challenges and opportunities of the Endangered Species Act, 562 Dirksen.
5 p.m. – Invest in Our Land holds an event with farmers and Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., focused on federal conservation programs, Rayburn Foyer.
Thursday, March 19
8:30 a.m. – USDA Weekly Export Sales
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