Reading Time: 2 minutes Hanoi | Reuters — Vietnam is considering cutting tariffs on several U.S. products, the ministry of finance said in a statement on Monday, after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urged Vietnam to reduce its trade surplus during a visit to Hanoi last month. Tariffs on chicken and processed chicken meat, almonds, grapes, wheat, pork and […] Read more
Vietnam considers CPTPP-level tariff cuts on U.S. ag products
CBOT weekly outlook: Headlines, geopolitics drive prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — To Terry Reilly, about the only things driving the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) are headlines and geopolitics developments. “Traders are trading headlines,” Reilly, an analyst for Futures International in Chicago, said in reference to the latest developments in U.S.-China trade talks. Reports on Wednesday morning said the two countries were close to […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy rises on trade hopes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Wednesday, buoyed by renewed optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal as well as some bargain buying, traders said. Corn futures were lower, giving up early gains on technical selling, while wheat futures firmed after two days of sharp declines. Investors were reassured by a Bloomberg report […] Read more
WTO tussles over hard stop or phase-out of appeals system
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The World Trade Organization (WTO) battled on Tuesday over whether to bring its Appellate Body to an abrupt halt or allow its adjudicators to settle a handful of pending cases, according to trade officials present at a meeting on the subject. The Trump administration has for more than two years been […] Read more
U.S. grains: Wheat futures drop sharply
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat futures sagged 1.8 per cent on Tuesday, the biggest percentage loss for the most-active contract in two months, on a round of profit-taking and technical selling, traders said. U.S. corn futures closed narrowly mixed, with nearby contracts weighed down by the drop in […] Read more
Grain World: Geopolitics is back dominating global relations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Geopolitics is again shaping the international scene, including China, Jason Shapiro explained here Thursday at the Grain World conference. Geopolitics, he said, resulted in catastrophic global wars and generated very little peace for close to a century. Shapiro, director of analysis for Geopolitical Futures — an Austin, Tex.-based international risk analysis […] Read more
EU lawmakers clear U.S. beef imports but fault U.S. tariffs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union lawmakers approved an increase in U.S. beef imports to the EU on Thursday, a move likely to ease transatlantic tensions. But they also criticized tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump on metal imports and a threat he has made to target EU cars and car parts. The European […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy falls below US$9 on South America weather, trade doubts
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. nearby soybean futures closed below $9 a bushel on Friday for the first time since September, pressured by improving crop weather in South America and fears that an initial U.S.-China trade deal could be pushed back to next year, analysts said. Wheat futures ended higher, while corn settled narrowly mixed. […] Read more
U.S. biodiesel industry struggles without subsidy
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — When John Whittington shut his Indiana biodiesel plant this week, he knew the move would leave all 14 of his workers there looking for jobs heading into the U.S. holiday season. But he felt he had no choice. A $1-per-gallon subsidy that had been propping up the industry since 2005 […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans sag on diminishing hopes for China deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures slipped on Wednesday on diminishing hopes for a deal to ease the trade war with China that has slowed exports of U.S. agricultural products. The market turned lower after a report that trade negotiations “hit a snag” over farm purchases. U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday dangled the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
