The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will formally propose to withdraw the “Waters of the U.S. Rule,” a controversial Obama-era rule on clean water. This move will mark the end of years of efforts by farm groups to get rid of something they called a burdensome federal overreach. Politico’s Morning Ag Report says the proposed rule to withdraw WOTUS was first revealed back in June, but it hadn’t been noticed in the Federal Register. That formal step kicks off a 30-day public comment period. Critics of the withdrawal have called for more time to weigh in on the matter. The proposed rule to withdraw WOTUS won’t have much of a noticeable effect out in the countryside. WOTUS was only in effect for a short time before the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put it on hold. The repeal rule is seen as a possible safety net in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court determines that the Court of Appeals didn’t have jurisdiction over the case and lifts the hold. While the repeal rule keeps the status quo, the Trump Administration will work on its own plan to decide which waters are subject to federal regulation and will reveal the plan in December.

A panel of expert witnesses told the House Agriculture Committee this week that speed is a critical factor in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement. The uncertainty over how negotiations may play out is causing some importers to look elsewhere for suppliers. Many of the importers that are looking elsewhere for chicken and grain products are located in Mexico. Those buyers are looking at South America to supply their needs and it shows in America’s export numbers. Corn, sorghum, and barley exports are down seven percent and will only get worse if negotiations drag on for a long period of time. Foreign importers are worried that President Donald Trump will follow through on his threat to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA altogether. “That threat prompted the Mexican government to look to Brazil and Argentina for alternative sources of corn and other grain products,” says Floyd Gaibler, a Director with the U.S. Grains Council. Government and trade sources have told Agri-Pulse that they hope to wrap up negotiations by the end of this year, but that’s not a firm deadline. Ag groups fear exports will fall further if it’s not done by the end of 2017.

The White House has sent the U.S. Senate the presidents nomination of Sam Clovis to a top Department of Agriculture post. The Senate confirmed this week it received President Trump’s nomination of Clovis as the USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics, according to the Hagstrom Report. The nomination is coming under some scrutiny, as Senate Agriculture top Democrat Debbie Stabenow questioned his merits to serve as the USDA chief scientist, and his comments against crop insurance. In 2013, Clovis commented that he thought crop insurance was unconstitutional. Those comments would be a “nonstarter” to the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, whose chairman said they would like to know why he said that. It does not, however, appear to be an issue for farm groups. 20 farm and agriculture groups offered their support for Clovis in a letter earlier this week.

U.S. grain and ethanol groups applauded Brazil’s announcement to delay a tariff on U.S. ethanol imports. Brazil announced this week it would impose a 30-day delay of a decision on a pending proposal to impose a 20 percent tariff on U.S. ethanol imports. The proposal would allow 500 million liters, or 132.1 million gallons, annually of U.S. ethanol imports before triggering the tariff. In a joint statement, the U.S. Grains Council, Growth Energy and the Renewable Fuels Association said they were “encouraged” by the postponement. The groups say the proposed action on U.S. ethanol imports will go against Brazil’s longstanding view that ethanol tariffs are inappropriate and will harm the development of the global ethanol industry.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association warned lawmakers Wednesday not to resurrect Country of Origin Labeling for meat through North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations. NCBA CEO Kendal Frazier told the House Agriculture Committee that if the Trump administration gave COOL new life in NAFTA, trade retaliations would be imminent. Canada and Mexico have been two of America’s top five export markets for beef, with approximately $1 billion each in annual sales. COOL was a law for six years, as Frazier told lawmakers it “failed to deliver” on its intention of building consumer confidence and adding value for producers. The World Trade Organization authorized Canada and Mexico to create retaliatory tariffs of more than $1 billion unless repealed. Congress repealed COOL in 2015, but Canada and Mexico still have the authority to retaliate against the United States if COOL is brought back into effect.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will attend a farm bill listening session in Texas next week. The listening session by the House Agriculture Committee will feature comments from Texas farmers on farm bill priorities. The “Conversations in the Field” is planned for 10:00 a.m. central time Monday, July 31st, at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. It follows a listening hearing last month at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and a handful of hearings on Capitol Hill by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway earlier this year vowed to complete the 2018 farm bill “on time,” adding that completing the farm bill on time will avoid adding more uncertainty to an already strained farm economy.

Comments made by Senate Agriculture Committee leaders suggest that Sam Clovis’s position on crop insurance could jeopardize his nomination for a top post at the Department of Agriculture. Senate Agriculture Ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow and Chairman Pat Roberts both eluded to the nominee’s statements on crop insurance. Clovis has previously questioned the constitutionality of crop insurance. Stabenow said: “It is important we all continue to work together to make sure we have the resources we need for crop insurance,” while Roberts commented that: “If there is some nominee who is coming before the committee who says crop insurance is unconstitutional, they might as well not show up.” Roberts said after Tuesday’s hearing that it is too early to say whether the Trump administration should withdraw Clovis’s nomination, but that Clovis should have an opportunity to explain his comments to him and Stabenow, according to the Hagstrom Report. Clovis was nominated by President Trump to serve as the USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics.

British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer have taken the first steps towards a U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement. The duo recently met to create a working group that will “lay the groundwork” for a bilateral trade deal, according to Politico. However, official negotiations cannot begin until the United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union around April 2019. In 2014, the U.K. was reported to rely on the EU for 27 percent of its food imports. Just four percent of food items in the U.K. originated from North America, and 54 percent of food consumed in the U.K., originated in the U.K., according to the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The newly established U.S.-U.K. Trade and Investment Working Group will explore trade priorities for the two nations.