Trade

RSS

Agri-Pulse readers kept a keen eye on a whole host of developments throughout the year, but none more so than the fresh faces of a new administration and Capitol Hill’s attempts to pass legislation to inject new funds into farm country.

U.S. pork exports to the Philippines rose sharply this year following the country’s decision to temporarily increase its import quota and reduce tariffs, and the National Pork Producers Council believes the improved trade conditions may extend through 2022.

The 2019 version of the Trump administration’s Market Facilitation Program overestimated trade damages and was marked by regional payment disparities among farmers growing the same crops, according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

The Biden administration is turning up the heat on ocean shipping companies to stop denying cargo space to U.S. agricultural goods and indicating the federal government may take action.

A potential shortage of truck drivers has both agriculture industry stakeholders and lawmakers concerned as supply chain bottlenecks have made it difficult for retailers, producers and consumers to obtain the inputs they need or transport their own products to the market.

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.

Mexico consumes and imports a lot of peanuts. The country is typically one of the top three largest foreign markets for U.S. farmers, but the potential for expansion is still substantial, according to U.S. industry representatives, and that’s because of Mexico’s growing fondness for a staple most commonly associated with kitchen pantries north of the border: peanut butter.

A handful of GOP members of the Senate Ag Committee are asking the Biden administration to list a pair of key agricultural inputs as critical minerals.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., continues to insist on passage of the Build Back Better bill by Christmas, despite ongoing concerns from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., about the package.

President Joe Biden plans to personally appeal this week to the key senator holding up the administration’s massive spending package, and the long-awaited nominee to run the Food and Drug Administration gets a hearing in the Senate.