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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
U.S. potato shipments are for the first time reaching Mexican importers beyond the 26-kilometer limit established by Mexico years ago, marking the start of increased trade that will boost U.S. exports by tens of millions of dollars, according to USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Talks are ongoing to get U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to testify before a House Agriculture Committee hearing early next year so lawmakers can press her on the Biden administration’s trade policy, says Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif.
A veteran senior Senate staffer, Fitzhugh Elder, will be taking over as GOP staff director for the Senate Agriculture Committee next month, sources tell Agri-Pulse. He will replace Martha Scott Poindexter, who’s moving to the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’ll make sure the Treasury Department understands the importance of stepped-up basis to farm groups. Vilsack was pressed about that issue during an appearance Wednesday before the House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee.
House Democrats are gearing up to pass the Farm Workforce Modernization Act to reform the H-2A visa program and legalize undocumented workers. But the path ahead in the Senate for an ag labor bill is as difficult as ever, especially with the surge of migrants at the border.
Democrats are pushing toward a final vote on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package, although the legislation will have to go back to the House after Democratic leaders made a series of revisions to shore up support for the measure. Those changes include new language allowing state and local funding to be used for broadband improvements.
The Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing Thursday to consider the nomination of Katherine Tai to be President Joe Biden’s U.S. Trade Representative and point person on the future of trade relations with China.
President Joe Biden is looking to get more members of his Cabinet in place this week, even as the top priority on his agenda, a COVID-19 relief package, is getting a rocky reception from Senate Republicans.
Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s pick as his Democratic running mate, has gone on record opposing new trade agreements, including the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and has taken up the interest of farmworkers during her short tenure in the U.S. Senate.
For U.S. red meat exporters, it's been touch and go with their major markets for two to three years, yet their foreign sales keep growing robustly, and they hope to set records again in 2020.
