Articles Tagged with ''china''

Bipartisan agreement on the need for the U.S. and Taiwan to strengthen ties through a trade pact was on display Wednesday at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, although Republican lawmakers were mostly critical of the Biden administration’s decision not to negotiate a traditional free trade agreement that requires approval from Congress.

The 2022-23 soybean marketing year starts officially on Thursday, and signs indicate exports will get off to a strong start. USDA data shows China is buying heavily, but marketing and education efforts by U.S. farm groups are paying off as demand is also growing in places like Egypt.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai argued against lifting tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese goods Wednesday, saying it would not do much to ease inflation and would remove key leverage she has in negotiations with China.

Congress last week made it clear that ocean carrier companies cannot “unreasonably” refuse to book space on ships for U.S. ag exports, but now it’s up to the Federal Maritime Commission to decide exactly what that means and the fate of foreign markets for U.S. some farm commodities is at stake.

The USDA said Friday bumped up its forecast for U.S. soybean exports and dropped its prediction for ending stocks as Chinese demand remains strong and competition from Brazil is less than expected.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen offered sharp criticism Wednesday of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, promising to “reconfigure” the import taxes even as her department continues a review.

China’s push to achieve self-sufficiency, which has incentivized the nation to purchase, and even steal, agricultural assets in other countries, could present risks to the economic and national security of the United States, warns a report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The USDA on Thursday reported yet another Chinese purchase of more than a million metric tons of U.S. corn, pushing cumulative U.S. corn sales to China so far in the current 2021-22 marketing year to roughly 14.7 million metric tons.

Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse, a GOP leader of congressional efforts to curb foreign influence in U.S. agriculture, has returned $17,500 in campaign donations to political action committees representing the Chinese-owned agribusiness companies Smithfield Foods and Syngenta.

Chinese buyers have contracted this week to buy 1.347 million metric tons of U.S. corn, the latest large daily purchase in an effort to lock down supplies after the Russian invasion of Ukraine cut off exports from the country.