A Bloomberg report says that American and Chinese officials have both indicated a willingness to find a negotiated solution to their trade differences. Top government officials are expected to hold talks before American tariffs on Chinese imports will take effect. White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro tells CNBC that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead the talks. White House officials have indicated previously that they were willing to negotiate with China, but the Bloomberg report says this is the first indication that talks would take place at the highest levels of government. Navarro says discussions will focus on getting to someplace “where China stops doing what it’s doing in terms of aggressive attacks on our economy.” He didn’t provide more specific details to CNBC about the timing or locations for future talks between the two countries. Larry Kudlow, head of the White House National Economic Council, says America is trying to rally pro-market countries to push back against China’s unfair trade practices. Kudlow says the administration will have more to say about its effort to recruit other major economies to support the U.S. position.

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says a potential trade dispute with China could have negative consequences on the new Farm Bill Congress is currently working on. Politico says Congress may need to factor in possible trade disruptions while working on the new legislation. China announced that dozens of U.S. farm products, including soybeans and beef, could potentially face a 25 percent tariff if the U.S. follows through on its threat to put a 25 percent tariff on Chinese goods. The goal of the Trump administration is to force China to change its intellectual property practices. The Chinese announcement came as Perdue was on his third RV tour of rural America. Perdue tried to reassure Ohio producers that the administration would not allow farmers to be casualties if the trade war escalates. However, he did say Congress may have to draw up a farm bill designed to help producers in case the dispute gets worse. He didn’t go into great detail about what he thought Congress would need to add to the farm bill. Senate Ag Chair Pat Roberts said last month that a special payment because of a trade dispute would complicate an already tough funding situation. USDA does have broad authority to distribute emergency funding to stabilize the agricultural economy if it becomes necessary.

The National Farmers Union says the Trump administration needs a plan to help farmers through a trade war. With the latest tariff proposal including $50 billion of U.S. goods, including soybeans, corn, beef, and other agricultural products, NFU President Roger Johnson expressed concern “there is not a plan in place” to protect farmers. Farmers are dealing with depressed farm prices and a 12-year low in farm income, and a trade war will “undoubtedly make these conditions worse,” according to Johnson. NFU is urging the President to engage with Congress to develop a farm bill that will protect farmers and ranchers from the collateral damage caused by the developing trade war. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who is traveling this week, said a plan is in the works, but so far has not provided any details.

As expected based off recent events, the U.S. and China are headed for a trade war at the cost of U.S. farmers. China has included soybeans in its latest proposed retaliatory tariffs, following other ag products such as pork and ethanol. Those all stem from the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States, and others proposed this week. The American Soybean Association expressed “extreme frustration” regarding the escalation of a trade war as China is proposing a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans. ASA called on President Trump to withdraw the tariffs that caused the retaliation and engage with China in a “constructive manner.” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says the tariffs are “testing both the patience and optimism of families who are facing the worst agricultural economy in 16 years,” adding “this has to stop.” China purchases 61 percent of total U.S. soybean exports, and more than 30 percent of overall U.S. soybean production.

(NPPC) A new study shows a reduction in the foreign-born workforce, prompted by a change in immigration policy, would not be offset by native-born workers and permanent residents. Iowa State University economists say a tighter supply of foreign-born workers would reduce overall demand for workers. That’s because as production costs increase, agricultural output would decrease as farmers abandon labor-intensive operations. Commissioned by the National Pork Producers Council, the study shows the result would be a 3.4 to 5.5 percent decrease in the total number of farm workers. NPPC says skilled and unskilled foreign workers “have been crucial to maintaining and growing the workforce” needed for the pork industry, adding that if the current labor shortage continues, or worsens, the nation could see “animal health and well-being suffer.” NPPC supports legislation that would create a new visa that allows non-seasonal foreign agricultural workers to remain in the United States for up to three years while deferring a portion of their pay as incentive for periodic “touchbacks” to their country.

The International Trade Commission agrees with the National Biodiesel Board that the biofuels industry has suffered because of unfairly dumped imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia. In a vote Tuesday, the Commission voted 4-0 in support of the position by the National Biodiesel Board. The vote on injury is the last remaining procedural hurdle before final antidumping orders can be issued later this month. A spokesperson for the National Biodiesel Board says in a statement the dumping of product into the U.S. has “undermined the jobs and environmental benefits that U.S. biodiesel brings to the table.” The NBB Fair Trade Coalition filed the antidumping petition in parallel to a countervailing duty petition to address a flood of subsidized and dumped imports from Argentina and Indonesia. The Coalition says the imports resulted in market share losses and depressed prices for domestic producers. Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016, taking 18.3 percentage points of market share from U.S. manufacturers.

Agricultural lending from U.S. banks increased nearly six percent in 2017, according to a new report by the American Bankers Association. Ag lending increased $5.9 billion to $106 billion last year from farm banks, which are defined as banks whose ratio of domestic farm loans to total domestic loans is greater than or equal to the industry average. Total farm and ranch loans from all U.S. banks at the end of 2017 was reported at $180 billion. ABA says asset quality remained healthy at the nation’s more than 1,800 farm banks as non-performing loans fell to a pre-recession level of 0.52 percent of total loans. However, an ABA spokesperson says the increase in lending shows bankers are “starting to see the effects of a weaker ag sector.” Meanwhile, more than 96 percent of farm banks were profitable in 2017, with more than 55 percent reporting an increase in earnings. In 2017, farm banks added more than 1,600 jobs, a 1.9 percent increase, and employed more than 88,000 rural Americans.

Farmers are expressing concerns regarding agricultural trade, according to the latest Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer slipped to 135 in March, down five points compared to February, but unchanged from January’s results. The decline was attributed to farmers weakening perceptions of current conditions and a decline in their expectations for the future. The index surveys 400 producers each month and a figure above 100 is positive, while a figure below 100 is considered negative. Focusing on trade in March, the survey found nearly 50 percent of farmers included in the survey were concerned a trade war would negatively impact agricultural exports, as seen with the recent China tariffs. Regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement, one-third of farmers surveyed expect the U.S. to exit the agreement, while another one-third of farmers expect the U.S. to remain in NAFTA.