President Donald Trump and his top trade negotiator head to the Group of 20 summit in hopes of re-starting negotiations with China before the trade war escalates further while simultaneously making progress in talks with the Japanese on reducing their barriers to U.S. farm exports.

The White House steps up its campaign to get Congress to approve the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement this week, dispatching U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for hearings on both sides of Capitol Hill.

Japan has agreed to lift a significant restriction on U.S. beef that’s expected to result in as much as an additional $200 million in annual U.S. exports, USDA announced Friday.

While the rest of the country has enjoyed an economic resurgence in recent years, the farm economy has slipped into a recession as global commodity prices precipitously fall.

The House and Senate are pursuing a deal on disaster aid with just two weeks left until the self-imposed deadline of Memorial Day and little sign of progress on the major reasons for the impasse.

President Donald Trump highlighted the importance of getting Japan to lower its tariffs on U.S. farm commodities as the two countries hash out a bilateral free trade agreement, a deal he said is progressing very rapidly.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi are scheduled to begin two days of talks on a free trade agreement in Washington Monday, U.S. government officials tell Agri-Pulse.