Trade
Have the Pacific Coast port bottleneck issues been resolved, or moved somewhere else? The East Coast may now be carrying the burden.
Agricultural markets are caught in a whirlwind of trade disruptions.
While China grapples with choosing which production lines to reopen, the food shortage conversation looks to ramp up.
Empty dinner plates can quickly translate to lack of world peace. Just ask Sen. Ernst, who gave a political rundown of food security as national security at Iowa State University last week.
Do tariffs fuel inflation? John Phipps’s Customer Support segment explains why economists have struggled to come up with estimates of economic effects due to lingering COVID influence on world business.
“We have tried to work constructively with the Mexican government to address these concerns, but, unfortunately, U.S. companies continue to face unfair treatment in Mexico,” said Ambassador Tai.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.
President Biden says he has not made a decision yet on whether to lift some of the $370 billion of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump Administration.
While overall pork exports are down, Mexico remains hungry for U.S. pork. Exports to Mexico have been on fire this year, up 24% in March. The latest data from April shows shipments to Mexico remain on a record pace.
Estimates of when new routes will be regular shipping lanes keep advancing. It looks like the long-awaited transpolar shipping route could be a real thing around 2050. John Phipps explains why and the possible impact
Mexico’s duty suspension is likely to benefit European pork and Brazilian poultry, while beef imports remain relatively unchanged.
The U.S.-China trade war began in July 2018 when the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $550 billion worth of Chinese goods. Nearly four years later, the debate remains as to which country actually won.
Higher prices at the grocery store don’t seem to be causing consumers to veer away from the meat counter. Robust meat demand abroad is also setting sail, despite inflation and shipping struggles.
John Phipps says positive or negative, any trade balance has dubious value, and only limited prediction power. Other than bragging rights, they mean little with no economic advantage for having a positive trade balance.
The commodity markets came under pressure to start the week as traders tried to shed risk over shipping concerns in China as COVID-19 concerns caused officials to shut down transportation amid a two-pronged lockdown.
Lawmakers introduce a bill to send an energy rebate any month the national average gas price exceeds $4 per gallon for the remainder of 2022.
With the U.S. on the back end of COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine unraveling, USTR Katherine Tai says her office is currently focused on three themes: resilience, sustainability and competition.
UPDATE: 03/02 4:23 pm-EST-There are reports a missile struck a vessel flying under the flag of Bangladesh in Ukraine.
Expect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to dominate the State of the Union address tonight. As for issues affecting agriculture, there may be few details offered, says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
China will buy 40,000 tonnes of pork for its central state reserves this week, in the first round of such stockpiling this year, China Merchandise Reserve Management Center said on Monday.
The top 10 export markets all saw gains in 2021, with six of the 10 (China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines and Colombia) setting new records.
U.S. goods exports to China fell in December, cementing a $45 billion increase in the 2021 U.S.-China trade deficit and a major two-year shortfall in Beijing’s purchase commitments under the “Phase 1" trade deal.
Rep. Garamendi says the USDA partnership with the Port of Oakland “isn’t going to solve the problem” because shippers deliver product to the U.S. and leave ports with empty containers.
One result of the pandemic was a spike in savings rates. In the U.S. last April, Americans collectively saved a record 30% of their income. John Phipps looks at China’s savings rate and what it’s meant for exports.
High-level talks between the U.S. and China yielded no major outcome Monday night. From human rights issues to crypto mining, leaders talked about a number of issues. Trade was mentioned but was not a priority topic.
Recent soybean sales have created doubts on just how much China will source. One Ohio State University ag economist says corn, cotton, wheat and pork exports are solid when you compare them to overall commitments.
A phase one trade deal with China is official, clearing the way for America’s chief trade competitor to purchase $80 billion worth of U.S. agricultural goods over the next two years.
China said on Saturday it pressed the United States to eliminate tariffs in talks between the countries’ top trade officials that Washington saw as a test of bilateral engagement between the world’s biggest economies.
USDA is out with its new ag export forecast for both this year and next, and it’s showing exports could hit $173.5 billion in 2021, $4 billion more than 2020, due to higher livestock, poultry and dairy exports.
Shipping issues continue to surface. The latest is in China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan container port, which is the third-busiest in the world, and has been partially shut down for six days, with no sign of reopening yet.