Articles Tagged with ''biotechnology''

President Donald Trump remains resolute that China commit to specific promises on amounts of U.S. ag commodities that it would buy as part of a trade pact, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said Wednesday.

House and Senate negotiators will have to sort through some sharply different priorities and spending targets for USDA and other departments and agencies important to agriculture.

Leaders of the three largest seed and chemical companies say it’s technologically possible to reduce farming’s environmental footprint while feeding a growing global population, but they worry policymakers and regulators will stand in the way. 

President Donald Trump’s claim that China is willing to address “agricultural structural issues” in a trade deal has the U.S. ag sector excited that real change may be coming to the U.S-China trading relationship beyond just increased commodity sales.

The United States and China have agreed to a tentative trade deal that addresses biotechnology and other key agricultural issues while substantially boosting U.S. farm exports, President Donald Trump said Friday.

Trump administration officials say they are committed to reducing regulatory barriers to agricultural biotechnology as part of a larger strategy to promote the development of a "bioeconomy" based on far-reaching scientific innovations that could revolutionize medicine, nutrition and manufacturing as well as farming.

The CEO of seed and chemical giant Corteva Agriscience believes farmers must play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and says he's working with other companies as well as academics and non-governmental organizations to address the climate issue.

Crop developers say USDA’s effort to streamline its regulation of biotech crops will still slow the commercialization of many gene-edited products, but groups representing grain traders, food processors and restaurant chains are slamming the department's proposal, claiming it could lead to trade disruptions and undermine consumer confidence. 

Many new genetically engineered crop traits would be exempt from regulation by the Agriculture Department under a sweeping rewrite of its rules for testing and assessing the products.