From almonds to frozen edible swine offal, the majority of the 128 products on which China imposed retaliatory tariffs Monday are agricultural, making farmers bear the brunt of the reaction to U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs. “This is a tax on American farmers, brought about by protectionist trade policies,” said Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) Co-Chair Max Baucus. “American farmers …
Ethanol on China’s Draft Retaliation List
Following action by President Trump yesterday to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese imports, China is making its list of what U.S. products will be the target of retaliation. The list reportedly includes agricultural products such as U.S. pork, modified ethanol, wine, fruits and nuts, and soybeans are expected to be as well. “We’re disappointed that China …
NEC Hosts International Ethanol Buyers for Third Year
More than 150 business-to-business meetings between domestic ethanol producers and international buyers from five countries were held at the Renewable Fuels Association’s National Ethanol Conference in San Antonio last week. It was the third year for the conference to host the event through the Department of Commerce’s International Buyer Program (IBP), a joint government-industry effort to promote U.S. export sales. …
Trade, Farm Bill & Taxes…Oh My!
Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst represented the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) at last week’s NAFB Trade Talk. As you can guess, trade, 2018 farm bill and tax reform we key issues we discussed. When it comes to NAFTA renegotiations, Hurst said, “U.S. agriculture can see some benefits from this renegotiation. We can see changes to phytosanitary rules. We …
Biodiesel Producers Testify at ITC Hearing
The International Trade Commission held a public hearing in Washington yesterday to hear from biodiesel producers hurt by subsidized biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia. “We’ve got a group of members and unfortunately some biodiesel producers who had to close plants this year,” said Kaleb Little with the National Biodiesel Board during an interview at the National Association of Farm …
US Meeting With Argentina on Biodiesel Imports
The government of Argentina will be negotiating with the U.S. Commerce Department today in an effort to suspend antidumping duties on biodiesel exports to this country. Affirmative preliminary determinations in the antidumping duty investigations of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, found in favor of the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition that biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia were …
Commerce Department Finds Biodiesel Dumping
The U.S. Department of Commerce has made a preliminary determination biodiesel exports from Argentina and Indonesia are being sold the United States below fair value, constituting dumping on the market and cause for imposing duties. The department determined that exporters in the two countries sold biodiesel in the U.S. at “dumping margins of 54.36 percent to 70.05 percent and 50.71 …
Ethanol Summit Focuses on Trade in Americas
Industry and government officials from more than 15 countries in the Western Hemisphere got together last week at the Ethanol Summit of the Americas in Houston to discuss current and future opportunities for ethanol in the region. The Summit was sponsored by the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, …
USDA Trade Mission Heading to Brazil
A USDA Foreign Agriculture Service trade mission to São Paulo and Recife, Brazil, is underway this week with ethanol industry leaders looking to expand their agricultural exports and further develop their business relationships in Brazil. “Brazil holds significant untapped market potential for U.S. exporters,” said Mark Slupek, deputy administrator of the Office of Trade Programs for USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. …
New Zealand Triples U.S. DDGS Purchases
New Zealand is producing record amounts of milk this year and feeding triple the amount of U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) compared to last year, according to the U.S. Grains Council. New Zealand has purchased 113,000 metric tons of U.S. DDGS so far this year compared to just 37,000 tons imported the same time last year. While this …