A dozen Republican lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, asking him to send final legislative language on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to Congress as soon as possible. They want Congress to be able to vote on it before Democrats take control of the House in 2019. A Bloomberg report says the legislators think the final passage of the trade pact will be “much more difficult” in 2019 as Democrats have already asked for revisions. So far, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hasn’t shown much interest in dealing with the agreement before the end of the year. Should the president pursue congressional approval this year, the senators say “we commit to working with you in a consultative manner to draft implementing legislation that will win votes in a majority of the House and Senate.” Bloomberg says the White House declined to comment on the long-shot attempt by the 12 Republicans to get the trade agreement over the finish line. All three countries plan to sign the pact at the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in Argentina, which begins on November 30th. The pact requires U.S. congressional approval, as well as approval from lawmakers in both Canada and Mexico.

Both the United States and opponents of tariffs put in place by President Donald Trump confirmed they want to take their disputes to the World Trade Organization. Those confirmations kickstarted the procedure for the WTO to set up dispute hearings. China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Norway all confirmed that they will take their disputes to adjudication proceedings. The Unites States also confirmed it wants dispute panels set up for trade disagreements with Canada, China, and the EU. Reuters quotes a U.S. trade official as saying, “The United States cannot abide this level of hypocrisy.” That was in response to each challenge to the steel and aluminum tariffs at the center of the trade disputes. Trump first put the tariffs in place by saying they were a national security issue, and as such are exempt from WTO rules. The other countries don’t agree, calling the tariffs thinly-veiled protectionism that has damaged U.S. rivals globally. They want the U.S. to compensate them for damages and imposed their own tariffs in response. WTO dispute panels are set up to settle disputes as peacefully as possible by encouraging each country to bring their policies in line with WTO rules, rather than litigating.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says China hasn’t taken action to correct the practices that led to American tariffs on Chinese imports. The tariffs are currently in place on $250 billion in goods. The trade chief made the announcement at the same time his agency released a 53-page update to its report on its own investigation into China’s intellectual trade practices. “We completed this update as part of the administration’s stronger monitoring and enforcement effort,” Lighthizer says. “The update shows that China hasn’t altered its unfair, market-distorting practices that were the focus of the report in March of this year on our Section 301 investigation.” The announcement from Lighthizer comes just ten days before a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires during the G20 summit. The South China Morning Post website says the discussions could either pause the trade dispute between the two largest economies in the world or it could potentially lead to further escalation.

New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand says President Trump should reject any farm bill that does not include a refund for dairy farmers who participated in the Margin Protection Program. The farm bill conference committee is reportedly nearing completion of the farm bill, leaving a final version to be passed by the House and Senate before heading to the president’s desk. Senator Gillibrand urged Trump in a letter this week to only support a final bill that includes her Dairy Premium Refund Act, that she says would “issue a refund to farmers who participated in the failed Dairy Margin Protection Program.” Gillibrand says that Since 2014, thousands of New York dairy farmers paid millions of dollars to USDA for coverage, but when milk prices and feed prices fell at the same time, most farmers “lost money on every pound of milk they sold and never received a payment.” Gillibrand serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee and is considered a hopeful candidate for President in 2020.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture announced it will not pursue Special Local Needs (24c) labels for the use of Engenia, FeXapan and XtendiMax for the 2019 growing season. This announcement follows the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to extend the registration of these three Dicamba products for another two years with additional safeguards.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture appreciates the thoughtful approach taken by EPA in the re-registration process, and our staff looks forward to working with industry partners, agriculture organizations and academia to ensure growers are aware of and follow the new federal requirements.

“We understand it is a challenging task to balance the interests of producers across the United States, but the EPA has worked diligently with registrants to provide a balanced approach,” said Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn.

EPA has enhanced the previous labels and put in place additional safeguards in an effort to increase the success and safe use of the product in the field.

The two-year registration is valid through Dec. 20, 2020, and includes the following:
-Only certified applicators may apply Dicamba over-the-top (those working under the supervision of a certified applicator may no longer make applications)
-Prohibit over-the-top application of Dicamba on soybeans 45 days after planting or up until the R1 growth stage (first bloom), whichever comes first
-Prohibit over-the-top application of Dicamba on cotton 60 days after planting
-For soybeans, the number of over-the-top applications remains at two
-Applications will be allowed only from one hour after sunrise to two hours before sunset
-In counties where endangered species may exist, the downwind buffer will remain at 110 feet and there will be a new 57-foot buffer around the other sides of the field (the 110-foot downwind buffer applies to all applications, not just in counties where endangered species may exist)
-Enhanced tank clean-out instructions for the entire system
-Enhanced label to improve applicator awareness on the impact of low pH on the potential volatility of Dicamba
-Label clean up and consistency to improve compliance and enforceability

The new label instructions and requirements will be covered in the required Dicamba or auxin-specific training available online through the University of Missouri Extension, or through training offered by Bayer, BASF and Corteva for their respective products.

For more information about the Missouri Department of Agriculture, visit the Department online at Agriculture.Mo.Gov.

The Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration agreed to a joint regulation of cell-cultured foods.

The announcement follows a public meeting from last month featuring discussion on how best to regulate cell-cultured, or so-called lab-grown products. Feedback from the meeting suggested a joint-regulatory approach.

Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports that FDA will manage cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation. USDA will take over during the cell harvest stage, and then will oversee production and labeling of cell-based meat products.

The two agencies will work out technical details on collaboration and information sharing. In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottleib said, “USDA and FDA are confident that this regulatory framework can be successfully implemented and assure the safety of these products.”

China’s former trade chief says the nation’s tactics in the trade war with the U.S. are not well thought out. In criticizing the handling of the trade war, Long Yongtu told a Chinese media event that it was inappropriate to involve political considerations in trade talks, according to the South China Morning Post. The official said: “We don’t think deeply enough,” referring to the focus on politics rather than economic impact. He claimed it was “unwise” to impose tariffs on U.S. soybeans because “targeting agricultural products should be the last resort.” China responded at the beginning of the tit-for-tat trade war by implementing a 25 percent duty on U.S. soybeans, altering global soybean trade. Yongtu said, “China is in dire need of soybean imports.” China has sourced much of its recent soybean purchases from Brazil since the start of the trade war with the United States.

The Department of Agriculture has canceled trade mitigation program payments to Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods following industry complaints. Politico reports USDA canceled a $250,000 contract with Smithfield following public complaints that a Chinese-owned company would receive U.S. relief funds intended for farmers losing money from the U.S.-China trade war. Smithfield has requested that USDA terminate the contract and no funds have been transferred, according to USDA. The contract was part of the Food Purchase and Distribution Program within the $12 billion trade mitigation package. Iowa Republican U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley was a vocal critic of the payment, saying he didn’t understand why Smithfield qualifies for the funding that was meant to help U.S. farmers. Last month, a Smithfield Foods statement noted the company met USDA’s eligibility standards, while pointing out the Smithfield is still a U.S.-based company employing thousands of Americans and that its U.S. meat products are made in its nearly 50 domestic facilities.