Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures rose 1.5 per cent on Monday, bouncing back from their lowest in more than five weeks on a round of technical buying and signs that Chinese demand for export supplies was picking up, traders said. Wheat futures dropped, their fourth straight losing session, falling through […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soy futures rise as trade fears ease
Negotiators fail to reach NAFTA deal
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Senior U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials on Friday ended a week of talks without a deal to modernize NAFTA, agreeing instead to resume negotiations soon, ahead of a deadline next week issued by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan. The failure to secure a quick deal underscores uncertainty over the […] Read more
Ryan sets May 17 deadline for NAFTA deal
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new NAFTA trade deal to give the current Congress a chance of passing it, while Mexico’s top trade official on Thursday said time was running short to meet such a deadline. Ryan, who controls legislation […] Read more
Trump said considering counting ethanol exports toward quotas
Reading Time: 3 minutes New York | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump told a group of senators on Tuesday he is considering allowing exported ethanol to count toward the volumes mandated under the nation’s biofuels law, a move intended to appease both Big Oil and Big Corn by cutting the refiners’ regulatory costs while preserving demand for corn. […] Read more
‘Progress’ seen by ministers at NAFTA talks, but breakthrough elusive
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington | Reuters — Canadian, Mexican and U.S. officials hailed progress on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Tuesday as efforts focused on crafting new rules for the auto sector, but there was no sign of a major breakthrough. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Mexican Economy […] Read more
NAFTA officials set for Washington meeting to push for progress
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — The top U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials driving NAFTA renegotiations will meet in Washington on Thursday, a Canadian government source said on Tuesday, as pressure for a quick deal mounted. Although the United States is eager to quickly wrap up negotiations to update the US$1.2 trillion North American Free Trade Agreement, […] Read more
U.S. to take another look at Pacific trade pact
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has asked his trade advisers to look at rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade pact he withdrew the U.S. from last year, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said. Republican senators met with Trump on Thursday and he told them that he has asked U.S. Trade Representative […] Read more
Trump administration weighs high-ethanol fuel waiver to placate farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes New York | Reuters — The Trump administration is considering allowing the sale of a higher-ethanol fuel blend in the summer, a source familiar with the issue said, a move that would placate corn growers worried about the future of U.S. biofuels policy. U.S. President Donald Trump recently met with the heads of the Environmental […] Read more
U.S. lawmakers skeptical of promises to shield farmers from trade dispute
Reading Time: 3 minutes Overland Park, Kan. | Reuters — U.S. lawmakers and the farm industry were skeptical of the Trump administration’s promise to shield farmers from the rapidly escalating trade dispute between the U.S. and China, concerned about the lack of details in protecting the agricultural export sector now embroiled in the back-and-forth. Major farming states supported U.S. […] Read more
U.S. grains: Soybeans close firm despite trade threats
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures rose on Friday, with traders shrugging off rhetoric about escalations in a trade war between China and the U.S. to focus on fresh export deals. China warned on Friday it was fully prepared to respond with a “fierce counter strike” of fresh trade measures if the U.S. follows […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
