6 years, 1 month ago AFBF
On Tuesday, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration granted livestock haulers an additional 90-day waiver from a regulation that could have a negative effect on animal well-being. The National Pork Producers Council applauded the move. A Department of Transportation rule first issued in 2015 required all commercial truckers involved in interstate commerce to replace their paper driving logs with Electronic Logging Devices, or ELDs, by December of last year. In September of 2017, NPPC petitioned the agency for a waiver or exemption from the requirement, and the DOT handed down an initial 90-day waiver until March 18 of 2018. A final decision on the NPPC request for a waiver is still pending. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is also pleased with the additional 90-day waiver. NCBA president Kevin Kester says this is obviously good news for cattle haulers and producers. “It will provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration more time to educate our livestock haulers on the ELDs while the industry works on solutions to the current Hours of Service rules that simply do not work for those who are hauling live animals,” says Kester. He also thanked Transportation Secretary Elaine Cho and FMCSA Administrator Ray Martinez for listening to their concerns and working with the NCBA to find a permanent workable solution.
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Key Farm Groups Like Co-op Tax Fix
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and the National Grain and Feed Association are both in favor of a legislative proposal that would fix an unintended consequence of the Republican tax overhaul. The changes to tax law give huge tax breaks to farmers who sell their goods to cooperatives over other types of businesses. Politico says congressional leaders want the fix to be included in the fiscal 2018 spending package, which has to pass by March 23. However, it’s not clear if Democrats are willing to allow any tax provisions to be included in the bill. Over 100 contentious riders to the bill are said to be in play as Democrats push for a clean spending package. The co-op fix would repeal the tax law change that gave farmers a 20 percent deduction from their gross sales by selling to co-ops. And, it would restore the tax benefits that co-ops and their farmers enjoyed under the old tax code, known as the Section 199 deduction for manufacturers, which Republicans repealed in the new tax law. The proposed fix would be retroactive to January first in order to negate any perceived gains as a result of what Republican lawmakers admitted is an error. It would allow farmers selling to co-ops to claim a 20 percent deduction on net business income.
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Trump Wants China to Cut Trade Deficit by $100 Billion
The White House has asked China to come up with a plan that would cut $100 billion off the trade deficit it currently has with the U.S. An administration official says that would be a reduction of more than 25 percent from last year’s trade gap with China. Bloomberg says the U.S. trade shortfall in goods traded with China surged another eight percent during the first year of the Trump presidency. Commerce Department data released last month showed the deficit at a record $375 billion. A tweet from President Trump on Wednesday appeared to say China had been asked to reduce the trade deficit by $1 billion instead of the $100 billion reduction which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Trump has repeatedly expressed dismay over the rising trade deficit with China, reinforcing that in a recent conversation with the President of China. A White House official was asked about the difference between the Wall Street Journal report and what the president tweeted recently. The official confirmed that the Trump tweet was a “typo,” and he meant $100 billion.
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USDA Under Secretary Remains Optimistic on Trade Despite Tariffs
While U.S. agriculture braces for possible retaliation against American tariffs on steel and aluminum, a USDA Under Secretary remains optimistic about the future of trade. AgriMarketing Dot Com says the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Affairs, Ted McKinney, was in Japan when the tariffs were announced. McKinney told reporters that while talking with Japanese leaders, there was absolutely no worry about a possible trade war with the U.S. He says the two sides emphasized the fact that they like doing business with each other. There was a good deal of discussion on ways to lower import tariffs on U.S. ag exports into Asia. “Whether we pursue a bilateral agreement, as the President wants, or possibly rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership, are decisions that the President and others need to make,” McKinney says. McKinney says he heard that the 11 countries still involved in TPP would like America to come back into the fold. All sides did recognize that there may need to be some changes made for that to happen. While the “America First” trade agenda can be challenging, he feels it will be successful in getting U.S. farmers better trade agreements.
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Study: RFS Impact on Refinery Profitability Minimal
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s energy policy staff analyzed recent claims by opponents of the Renewable Fuels Standard, specifically as it relates to the bankruptcy of Philadephia Energy Solutions. The company attributed its recent filing in part to the RFS. The analysis found that the biofuels blending requirement and the cost of the Renewable Identification Number credits both have little to do with the success of refineries and weren’t significant factors in the PES bankruptcy. The Grassley study reached similar conclusions to a number of other recent studies, including multiple studies from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Energy Policy. Grassley says he wanted to find out more information after the RFS was blamed for the financial troubles of some refineries. “After reviewing the facts, I am confident that the Renewable Fuels Standard isn’t harming refineries and that other factors are at works,” Grassley says. “The RFS law is working as Congress intended.” The Grassley staff analysis says that the evidence points to the fact that PES was having financial difficulty due to changes in available feedstocks, as well other questionable management decisions, including the decision to sell off the RINs it had acquired, in hopes of buying them back at a lower cost.
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Farmers for Free Trade Launching $500,000 Ad Campaign on Trade
Farmers for Free Trade is gearing up for a half-million-dollar ad campaign for a new television ad warning against the aggressive trade policies of President Trump. Farmers for Free Trade says those policies make agriculture a prime target against trade retaliation. The ad will highlight Montana grain and oilseed farmer Michelle Erickson-Jones. It’s scheduled to run on Fox and Friends, Lou Dobbs, and Morning Joe, as well as online. In the ad, Erickson-Jones says, “We depend on free trade policies to maintain our export markets. The crops we grow here on this farm are exported across the globe. Policies that restrict trade would be devastating for farms like ours.” She goes on to say in the ad that she’d like to pass their farm down to her children and ends by asking the president to protect free trade and keep our agricultural economy strong. Farmers for Free Trade co-chair Richard Lugar says, “America’s farmers and ranchers depend on policies that open markets and are hurt by policies that throw up barriers to trade.”
