6 years, 6 months ago AFBF
NAFTA Talks to Return to Washington, D.C.
The North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort will return to Washington, D.C. this month for the fourth round of official talks. The negotiations will resume October 11th through the 15th, following a round of talks in Canada last month. Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said progress was made in the most recent meetings "on a number of bread-and-butter trade issues." Meanwhile, the U.S. has yet to introduce a proposal to increase protections for seasonal and perishable produce. The tabled issue is being closely watched by agriculture groups, Including the National Pork Producers Council, which says the proposal could provoke America's NAFTA partners to push for mechanisms that make it easier to restrict U.S. farm exports. By U.S. law and official notices to Congress, the earliest a deal can be agreed upon and concluded is March of next year. But, Forbes speculates that would be too close to the midterm election cycle, as a comment period would extend into September 2018, even at the fastest pace, likely putting the potential final approval of a new NAFTA in 2019.
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Trump on KORUS to Lighthizer: Call Me a “Crazy Guy”
Online source Axios reports that President Donald Trump told U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to portray him as a “crazy guy” during the upcoming U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement meeting. South Korea will host the meeting with Lighthizer this week to discuss “ways to move forward” with KORUS. The meeting is the second on KORUS, following discussion between Korea and U.S. trade officials last month in Washington, D.C. In a conversation with cabinet members last month, Axios says Trump told Lighthizer “you’ve got 30 days,” to get conditions, or he would withdraw from the agreement. But, in the discussion, Trump went further, and said: “You tell them, 'This guy's so crazy he could pull out any minute.'" Trump followed up with “by the way, I might,” if the U.S. doesn’t get trade concessions from Korea. According to a USTR fact sheet, Korea is currently the fifth largest U.S. agricultural export market, with beef leading the way, followed by lemons, shelled almonds, cheese, cherries and wine and beer.
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Japan Tariff Reduced U.S. Beef Exports
U.S. frozen beef exports to Japan are down 26 percent after Japan imposed an emergency tariff due to an influx of frozen beef from the United States. The tariff increased from 38.5 percent to 50 percent of the Japanese market, to protect domestic producers. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports Japan’s frozen beef imports from the U.S. were 4,317 metric tons in August, down 26 percent year-over-year. However, the U.S. Meat Export Federation says it is possible that some of the August declines were due to additional product being ordered ahead of the duty rate increase. The July-August average was 9,816 metric tons per month, which is almost exactly the same as a year ago. Meanwhile, Japan's August chilled beef imports from the U.S. were 13,721 metric tons, up 54 percent year-over year.
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Agriculture Groups Support Farm Guestworker Bill
Agriculture groups are expressing support for the Agricultural Guestworker Act of 2017. The bill would create an H-2C visa program that will allow American farmers and, packers and processors access to a legal and stable supply of workers. The National Chicken Council says the bill would help farmers access legal workers to combat workforce shortages. The National Pork Producers Council says the bill, introduced Monday by Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte, would allow the pork industry access to a “viable agriculture workforce to remain globally competitive.” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says the bill addresses the needs of agriculture’s current workforce. The new program would allow undocumented workers, who can demonstrate agriculture work experience over the previous two-year period, to get an H2-C visa. An initial cap of 500,000 workers would be allowed under the program, with allowances to adjust the number depending on U.S. agriculture labor demand each year.
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Lock Failures Close Ohio River
The Ohio River was closed Monday following lock failures near Brookport, Illinois. The Waterways Council says more than 65 towboats laden with harvest season grain and other commodities were backed up “like a massive truck wreck along an interstate corridor.” The closure of Lock 53 follows a failure at nearby Lock 52. The Waterways Councils says the failures highlight the critical, but aging, lock and dam system on U.S. inland waterways. In service since 1928, locks 52 and 53 on the Ohio River are to be replaced by the Olmsted Lock and Dam which was authorized in 1988, but will not open until next year. Once Olmsted is finished, Locks 52 and 53 will be removed. Lock 52 was reopened late Monday.
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Fertilizer Company to Halt Production to Curb Excess Supply
Canada’s Potash Corp announced last week it would temporarily shut down production at two Canadian mines, as part of a longstanding strategy to match supply to demand. Reuters says the company will curtail output at one facility for ten weeks starting November 19th, and for eight weeks at another facility starting December 3rd. It said the number of temporary layoffs had not been determined. The company is attempting to lower the excess supply of potash, adjusting inventory to better reflect demand. The move comes as Potash Corp is in the midst of seeking regulatory approvals for a merger with competitor Agrium. Potash is a major ingredient in most commercial fertilizers, as potassium from potash is often referred to as the “regulator” in crop production.
