Trade
Empty dinner plates can quickly translate to lack of world peace. Just ask Sen. Ernst, who gave a political rundown of food security as national security at Iowa State University last week.
Do tariffs fuel inflation? John Phipps’s Customer Support segment explains why economists have struggled to come up with estimates of economic effects due to lingering COVID influence on world business.
Less than a week after the first shipment of grain left Ukraine, three more ships departed Friday. Grain analysts are still concerned about not only how much grain will be exported, but if the ships will safely return.
Ukraine’s first shipment of grain since Russia’s invasion is now one step closer to reaching its final destination of Lebanon. The UN. says the shipment of over 26,000 tons of corn was cleared to proceed Wednesday.
For the first time since the war started, a Ukrainian ship carrying grain left port. The UN says the Razoni was carrying 26,527 MT of corn. The vessel was stuck in port since Feb. 18, before the start of the war.
U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday that grain shipments from Ukraine could resume as soon as today but that details of the exact coordinates of shipping routes were still being finalized.
Heavy Russian strikes hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv overnight and early on Sunday, killing the owner of one of the country’s largest grain producing and exporting companies, the local governor said.
Five months after the invasion, Senators will receive a classified briefing Wednesday. Russia launched a missile attack on the key grain-exporting port of Odesa Saturday, a day after signing a deal to resume exports.
A day after Ukraine and Russia signed a deal to resume grain exports from Ukraine, Russian missiles hit the Odesa port. Ukrainian foreign-ministry accused Vladimir Putin of “spitting in the face” of U.N and Turkey.
U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh remained optimistic about contract negotiations between workers and shipping companies for some of the country’s most important ports, even as talks extend past a previous deadline.
President Biden says he has not made a decision yet on whether to lift some of the $370 billion of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump Administration.
President Biden spent last weekend in Tokyo, Japan. During the visit, Biden announced a dozen Indo-Pacific countries will join the U.S. in a “sweeping” economic initiative, primarily focused on countering China.
U.S. President Joe Biden has not ruled out using export restrictions to ease soaring domestic fuel prices, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday.
Pro Farmer’s Jim Wiesemeyer is told U.S. lawmakers want Chinese import tariffs knocked down to minimize inflationary pressure. USTR Katherine Tai says tariff adjustments aren’t likely, but are on the table.
CBOT soybean oil prices hit a record high after Indonesia announced it will effectively ban palm oil exports as of April 28. With no timeline in place, some question the motive and duration of the announced ban.
The Ukranian government announced removal of corn and sunflower oil export license requirements to allow for easier exports, while also hoping the sale of the commodities will provide money for spring planting.
The commodity markets came under pressure to start the week as traders tried to shed risk over shipping concerns in China as COVID-19 concerns caused officials to shut down transportation amid a two-pronged lockdown.
“Before the war with Ukraine, the President encouraged Russia to produce more oil to help us lower the price at the pump,” says U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). “That’s so hypocritical.”
With the U.S. on the back end of COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine unraveling, USTR Katherine Tai says her office is currently focused on three themes: resilience, sustainability and competition.
UPDATE: 03/02 4:23 pm-EST-There are reports a missile struck a vessel flying under the flag of Bangladesh in Ukraine.
Expect Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to dominate the State of the Union address tonight. As for issues affecting agriculture, there may be few details offered, says USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The top 10 export markets all saw gains in 2021, with six of the 10 (China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, the Philippines and Colombia) setting new records.
U.S. goods exports to China fell in December, cementing a $45 billion increase in the 2021 U.S.-China trade deficit and a major two-year shortfall in Beijing’s purchase commitments under the “Phase 1" trade deal.
Rep. Garamendi says the USDA partnership with the Port of Oakland “isn’t going to solve the problem” because shippers deliver product to the U.S. and leave ports with empty containers.
The United States and the European Union have downgraded their dispute at the WTO over steel and aluminum tariffs applied by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and subsequent EU retaliation.
Mark Mills, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, recently joined Chip Flory on AgriTalk to talk about the logistics and supply chain challenges ahead for electric vehicles.
Trade volume slipped between July-September due to supply chain disruptions, shortages of production inputs and rising COVID-19 cases, the WTO said in a statement on its website.
AgriTalk Host Chip Flory and Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer discuss plans Congress will probably have these last weeks of 2021, including the debt ceiling and the Build Back Better plan in the Senate.
One result of the pandemic was a spike in savings rates. In the U.S. last April, Americans collectively saved a record 30% of their income. John Phipps looks at China’s savings rate and what it’s meant for exports.
High-level talks between the U.S. and China yielded no major outcome Monday night. From human rights issues to crypto mining, leaders talked about a number of issues. Trade was mentioned but was not a priority topic.