Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — In the latest supply and demand report from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the global wheat forecast was revised downward due to difficult weather conditions. USDA has now projected 765.53 million tonnes of wheat to be produced in 2019-20, according to the department’s world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE), released Thursday. That’s […] Read more
Global wheat production to decrease, USDA says
China strikes back at U.S. with new tariffs on soybeans, beef, pork, more
Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China said Friday it will impose retaliatory tariffs against about US$75 billion worth of U.S. goods, putting as much as an extra 10 per cent on top of existing rates in the dispute between the world’s top two economies. The latest salvo from China comes after the United States unveiled tariffs […] Read more
U.S., Canada, 14 others slam EU farm product regulation at WTO
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States and 15 other countries launched a broadside of criticism at the European Union on Thursday, saying its “hazard-based” approach to regulating pesticides and other “critical tools” used by farmers was damaging livelihoods worldwide. Their statement, submitted to the World Trade Organization, said the EU’s approach created great uncertainty […] Read more
China trade
Will the friction between China and Donald Trump create real opportunities for Canadian soybean growers?
Reading Time: 7 minutes In today’s world, the news headlines that we read in the morning can be turned on their head that afternoon, which is why being able to differentiate what is really newsworthy from what’s just background noise is becoming a critical success factor for farmers. On the trade front, ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China […] Read more
U.S. to seek comprehensive ag access in EU trade talks
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The United States on Friday signaled it would not bow to the European Union’s request to keep agriculture out of this year’s planned U.S.-EU trade talks, publishing negotiating objectives that seek comprehensive EU access for American farm products. The objectives, required by Congress under the “fast-track” trade negotiating authority law, seek […] Read more
EU trade chief says U.S. talks won’t include agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The European Union and United States have not yet agreed on the scope of trade negotiations, but the bloc will not include agriculture in the talks, its trade commissioner said on Wednesday. U.S. President Donald Trump has sought better terms of trade with the EU, as well as China, Japan, Canada […] Read more
U.S. investigators question shareholders of Brazil’s JBS
Reading Time: < 1 minute Brasilia | Reuters –– U.S. investigators this week visited Brazil to question shareholders of J+F Investimentos, the holding company that controls meatpacker JBS SA, as part of an existing plea deal, Brazilian prosecutors said on Friday in a statement. U.S. authorities have been investigating the companies controlled by J+F since their largest shareholders — brothers […] Read more
Soybean exports face stiff U.S. competition
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Although the ongoing trade war between China and the U.S. has been a good opportunity for Canada to increase its soybean exports to China, industry experts say there have been tradeoffs elsewhere. That trade war between the world’s two largest economies is expected to continue, or perhaps flare up, as the G-20 […] Read more
U.S. dairy farmers get little help from Canada trade deal
Reading Time: 4 minutes Madison, Wisconsin/St. Claude, Manitoba | Reuters – Minnesota farmer Paul Fritsche can no longer afford health insurance as he struggles to sustain a dairy farm that has been in his family for nearly a century. With U.S. milk prices in the fourth year of a slump due to chronic oversupply, Fritsche, 58, is unsure whether […] Read more
U.S. seen likely to win in effort to shut down WTO’s appeals court
Reading Time: 2 minutes Geneva | Reuters — The United States is likely to succeed in shutting down the World Trade Organization’s supreme court because other WTO members are powerless to stop it, diplomats, lawyers and officials said at a conference in Geneva on Friday. The United States has blocked appointments of judges to the Appellate Body, throwing the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
