As expected, the U.S. Senate will not consider the new North American Free Trade Agreement, now known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, in 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Bloomberg News a vote on the updated agreement would not happen until after the New Year, saying “My trade advisers say you can’t possibly do it under the various steps that we have to go through.” However, McConnel said, “There’s no question this will be on the top of the agenda” next year. While a vote is unlikely this year, some Republican Senators, including Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, have commented that a vote before the end of this year on the updated agreement would avoid any potential political conflict next year.

Representatives of the U.S. pork industry say “we’ve got the momentum on trade headed in the right direction.” National Pork Producers Council President Jim Heimerl stated “pork producers are hurting because of retaliatory tariffs on pork,” but says their patience is starting to pay off. The comments followed the formal announcement that the U.S. is seeking new free trade agreements with the European Union, Japan and the United Kingdom. That announcement follows the recent completion of negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement, now named the U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement, if approved. Between the USMCA, and the recently updated agreement with South Korea, NPPC points out that the administration has maintained the U.S. pork industry’s zero-tariff access to three of the top five destinations for U.S. pork exports. However, NPPC notes, that while the organization is open to trade negotiations with the United Kingdom, it is skeptical about EU intentions. Heimerl says “The EU has played the United States like a drum in the past,” adding that NPPC expects the U.S. to require the EU to eliminate all tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. pork.

The U.S. formally announced it will seek trade agreements with Japan, the European Union and the United Kingdom. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced this week that the U.S. will seek to negotiate three separate trade agreements with Japan, the EU and the U.K. The European Union has downplayed the announcement, despite ongoing exploratory talks since this summer. The EU has previously stated that agriculture would not be negotiated in any free trade agreement with the United States. However, in the announcement, Lighthizer says he is committed to negotiating “with timely and substantive results for American workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses.” The Trump administration intends to negotiate the trade agreements under Trade Promotion Authority, which allows for a simple yes or no approval by Congress, without amendments. U.S. goods and services trade with the EU totaled nearly $1.2 trillion in 2017, while trade with Japan totaled an estimated $283.6 billion in 2017.

Progress on the farm bill following the November midterm elections could be stalled even further, depending on the need for disaster relief stemming from Hurricane Michael. House Agriculture Committee ranking Democrat Collin Peterson this week speculated congress members from states impacted by the hurricane will pressure lawmakers to “either add something to the farm bill or appropriations,” according to Politico. Peterson says those efforts “could potentially give us more problems to solve than we already have.” The 2014 farm bill expired at the end of September and top ag lawmakers expected the new farm bill to be passed following the midterm elections. Those close to the negotiations continue to work on the farm bill, but the House and Senate are both on recess until after the elections, and conference committee members report little progress on all titles of the farm bill.

Livestock organizations this week sent a petition to the Department of Transportation requesting additional flexibility on Hours of Service requirements. The petition asks for a five-year exemption from certain Hours of Service requirements for livestock haulers and encourages the Department of Transportation to work with the livestock industry to implement additional fatigue-management practices. Current rules limit drive time to 11 hours and limit on-duty hours to 14. Instead, the organizations request that livestock haulers be granted approval to drive up to 15 hours with a 16-hour on-duty period, following a 10-hour consecutive rest period. The petition states the current requirements “place the well-being of livestock at risk during transport and impose significant burdens on livestock haulers.” The petition was signed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Livestock Marketing Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Beekeeping Federation, American Honey Producers Association, and the National Aquaculture Association.

Canada’s Prime Minister says the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement allows Canada to move forward with trade talks with China. Despite a provision in the text of the agreement that allows the U.S. to opt-out of the deal if Canada or Mexico engages with China, Justin Trudeau claims the provisions were “watered down” in the final version of the agreement. He told the Globe and Mail this week that he is ready to reopen talks with China. The USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement and a clause in the agreement is interpreted to forbid deals with “non-market” countries, such as China. Specifically, the provision specifies that if one of the current NAFTA partners enters a free trade deal with a “non-market” country such as China, the others can quit in six months and form their own bilateral trade pact. However, Trudeau says the clause does not stop Canada from doing business with “whom it pleases.”

A panel formed by Food Policy Action says Congress should pass the Senate version of the farm bill. The organization took aim at the House version of the farm bill that includes work requirements for food stamp recipients. During an event this week, Food Policy Action executive director Monica Mills said, “we want to see a farm bill that is good for the Americans we represent.” The group says the House version of the bill barely passed the chamber, while the Senate bill passed with an 86-11 vote. Work on the farm bill remains stalled as both the House and Senate are out of session ahead of the November midterm elections, and three of the top four farm bill lawmakers are up for reelection, as noted by the Hagstrom Report. Meanwhile, Erik Olson of the Natural Resources Defense Council said, “Congress is at a crossroads.” Referring to the Senate bill, he says “It may not have been the bill we would have drafted ourselves … but it is a serious compromise.”

The Department of Agriculture Friday began issuing farm safety net payments for the 2017 and 2018 crop years. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced more than $4.8 billion in payments are being made starting this month through the Farm Service Agency’s Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage and Conservation Reserve programs. The payments come as there is a temporary lapse of farm bill authorities, but Perdue says farmers and ranchers can “rest assured that USDA continues to work within the letter of the law to deliver much-needed farm safety net, conservation, disaster recovery, and trade assistance program payments.” Approximately $3 billion in payments will be made under the ARC and PLC programs for the 2017 crop year, and approximately $1.8 billion in annual rental payments under CRP for 2018. The ARC and PLC programs were authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and make up a portion of the agricultural safety net to producers when they experience a substantial drop in revenue or prices for their covered commodities.