The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold 18 confirmation hearings in the coming months for positions in the Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies. While yet to be scheduled, a confirmation hearing for Agriculture Secretary Nominee Sonny Perdue will be one of 14 for USDA positions, alone. The committee must also confirm replacements for three vacancies at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and one for the Farm Credit Administration board. Senate aides told The Hagstrom Report that considering nominees for confirmation is a primary responsibility of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and will take priority over work on the next farm bill. The committee must confirm the USDA Secretary, Deputy Secretary and a group of Assistant Secretary and Undersecretary positions. Sources close to the transition efforts expect Sonny Perdue’s confirmation to come in early March.

China and New Zealand will hold a series of meetings to promote free trade amid growing concerns over U.S. trade protectionism. The Strait Times, a Singapore-based newspaper, reports officials from both China and New Zealand have confirmed the meetings will take place. China’s Foreign Minister last week met with New Zealand officials. The two reportedly discussed the upgrade of the nations’ bilateral free trade agreement, China’s possible involvement in what remains of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and New Zealand’s role in China’s One Belt, One Road economic strategy. China and New Zealand officials both agreed the consideration of China joining the TPP needs to be discussed further now that the United States withdrew from the trade agreement. New Zealand and Australia have said that they hope to salvage the TPP by encouraging China and other Asian countries to join the trade pact.

President Donald Trump has assigned Vice President Mike Pence to lead economic dialogue with Japan following meetings with Japan’s Prime Minister. Trump and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made no decision regarding bilateral trade negotiations while meeting over the weekend in Florida. Vice President Pence will lead any trade talks with Japan, while Japan appointed its Deputy Prime Minister to lead talks with Pence. The talks will address fiscal and monetary policies, along with infrastructure and trade, according to Reuters. A top economist at Nikko Securities in Tokyo said Pence “may be easier to work with” and “probably more logical” than Trump regarding trade policy negotiations. Trump has publicly opposed Japan, on both the campaign trail and in office, for its trade and economic policies.

South Korea last week raised the nation’s foot-and-mouth disease alert status to its highest level, as a second strain of the disease was confirmed at a dairy farm. South Korea also announced plans to vaccinate all cattle in the nation against FMD. The first confirmed FMD case in South Korea in more than a year was confirmed last week, and two other FMD confirmations followed, prompting the alert status and vaccination announcement. South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, last raised the country’s foot-and-mouth disease alert status to the highest level in 2010 when the country grappled with its worst-ever FMD outbreak, according to Reuters.

Growth Energy last week awarded former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack with the organization’s highest honor, the America’s Fuel Award. The award was announced at Growth Energy’s eighth annual Executive Leadership Conference. The award is presented to an individual who “has gone above and beyond the call of duty to act as a champion for the renewable fuels industry.” Past winners include Growth Energy Co-chairman Tom Buis, former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, retired Four-Star General, Wesley Clark, and Richard Childress of Richard Childress Racing. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor said of the award: “We thank Secretary Vilsack for his unwavering dedication to the growth and success of the American ethanol industry throughout his time as Secretary of Agriculture and Governor of Iowa.”

The Donald Trump administration is expected to make an announcement soon regarding taxes and possible reforms. While little details were available, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week said the administration would make a tax-related announcement this month. Talks regarding a tax plan by President Trump are apparently coming along well, and Trump indicated an announcement would be coming “over the next two or three weeks.” Tax reform is a top priority for some in agriculture, including the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF see’s lowering tax rates in a way that doesn’t result in a tax increase, and eliminating the estate tax as critical tax reforms needed for farmers. Trump has said he wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 15 or 20 percent, according to Politico, and he has threatened a 35 percent tax on businesses that go overseas. It’s unclear, however, what specifically the president was alluding to or how reliable his timeline is.

The Transportation and Infrastructure Committees in the U.S. House and Senate are prepping for a busy year as the President is readying a push against the nation’s “failing infrastructure.” The American Society of Civil Engineers says the U.S. transportation system, wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, schools and the energy grid need improvements, estimated at $3.6 trillion. President Trump has said he will propose a massive infrastructure improvement plan for the U.S. that could total up to $1 trillion. In a recent House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, Cargill and Vermeer represented the agriculture sector. For agriculture, top transportation priorities include updating the nation’s waterways transportation system, and ensuring viable road and rail transport of agricultural commodities and inputs.