Articles Tagged with ''European Union''

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced Friday he’s chosen Julie Callahan – an FDA and USDA alumnus – to work side-by-side with Ambassador Gregg Doud, representing the interests of the U.S. ag sector around the globe.

The European Commission has ambitious new plans to cut farmers’ use of pesticides, fertilizer and antimicrobials while also boosting organic production over the next decade.

U.S. farm groups are looking for big wins as U.S. negotiators push the U.K. to abandon European barriers to agricultural trade in the countries' first round of trade talks, according to industry officials aware of the proceedings.

The European Union's plan to buy up skim milk powder and butter from European producers is spurring U.S. producers to join in protest with farmers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay.

California wine grape growers are out pulling up acres of grapevines this winter after years of liberal plantings and a flattening U.S. wine demand pushed growers and vintners into an economic purgatory.

The United Kingdom, now free from the European Union, published negotiating objectives Monday for a free trade agreement with the U.S., and improving agriculture imports and exports will be key during talks that are expected to begin in the next several weeks, British government officials said.

The U.K. successfully split from the European Union last week, setting into motion a scramble on both sides of the Atlantic in Washington and Brussels to woo the British into a free-trade agreement as billions of dollars in ag trade hang in the balance.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue is leaving a week of meetings in Europe with a sense of optimism about a potential trade deal with the bloc of countries there, but familiar issues will need to be addressed if there is to be an agreement.

The European Commission is expected to ban the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos in January following a vote Friday by its Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed that cited health risks to children.