Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters – At Home Plate BBQ, an American-style restaurant in Beijing, staff are reprinting menus. The U.S.-China trade war means American beef – once the star ingredient – will soon be off the table. Home Plate’s beef, previously sourced entirely from the U.S., is increasingly Australian. The restaurant uses about 7 to 8 […] Read more
US beef off the menu as the trade war hits Beijing’s American-style restaurants
US beef exports to China worth $125 million a month at risk
Proposed U.S. port fees on China-built ships choking coal, agriculture exports
U.S. agriculture exports face uncertainty due to proposed shipping fees, traders say
Reading Time: 2 minutes U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding using massive fees on China-linked ship visits to American ports is causing U.S. coal inventories to swell and stoking uncertainty in the embattled agriculture market, as exporters struggle to find ships to send goods abroad.
Trump, citing U.S. farmers, slaps metal tariffs on Brazil, Argentina
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Rio de Janeiro | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump ambushed Brazil and Argentina on Monday, announcing tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports from the two countries in a measure that shocked South American officials and left them scrambling for answers. In an early morning tweet, Trump said the tariffs, “effective immediately,” were necessary […] Read more
U.S. corn exports falter, soybean business could meet same fate
Reading Time: 4 minutes Fort Collins | Reuters – It is no secret that overseas demand for U.S. corn has been downright terrible as of late, and relief does not seem likely in the immediate term as purchase commitments remain dismal. Forward sales for U.S. soybeans are nothing to brag about either, but soy exporters have enjoyed more success recently than […] Read more
Action needed on trade talks, supply/demand report out Friday
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm – There needs to be some kind of firm, tangible action when it comes to the partial trade agreement between the United States and China, said Steve Georgy of Allendale Inc. in McHenry, Ill. He pointed to China, which recently said it wants some of the tariffs the U.S. has on its imports to […] Read more
Bunge shares slide as China trade war, pig disease upset exports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – Agricultural merchant Bunge Ltd warned on Wednesday of a drop in annual profits due to mounting challenges to its grain trading and processing business from the U.S.-China trade war and a fatal pig disease in Asia, sending shares down more than 4 percent. The company reported better-than-expected third-quarter profits, driven by higher margins […] Read more
Beijing’s refusal to order U.S. farm buys becomes pain point
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington/Beijing/Reuters – U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Beijing commit to big purchases of American farm products has become a major sticking point in talks to end the Sino-U.S. trade war, according to several people briefed on the negotiations. Trump has said publicly that China could buy as much as $50 billion of U.S. farm […] Read more
China to request U.S. remove tariffs in exchange for ag buys
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters – Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials will discuss plans on Friday for China to buy more U.S. farm products, but in return, Beijing will request cancellation of some planned and existing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports, people briefed on the talks told Reuters. Robert Lighthizer, the United States Trade Representative, U.S. […] Read more
How a major U.S. farm lender left a trail of defaults, lawsuits
Reading Time: 5 minutes Harrod, Ohio | Reuters — After completing a credit review in a half-hour phone call, a BMO Harris Bank underwriter cleared US$12 million in loans for Ohio corn and soybean producer Greg Kruger in 2013. Kruger had initially asked for a $2 million loan to build a grain elevator. But the Chicago-based bank, one of […] Read more
Deere to lay off 163 U.S. workers as trade war dents demand
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Deere and Co. on Tuesday announced indefinite layoffs for 163 U.S. manufacturing workers at plants in Illinois and Iowa that make agricultural, forestry and construction equipment, citing decreased customer demand. The layoffs come week after the company said it would reduce production by 20 per cent at its facilities in Illinois […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
