China’s implementation of tariffs on U.S. products means U.S. pork faces a 62 percent tariff level. The National Pork Producers Council responded that U.S. pork farmers now face large financial losses and contraction because of escalating trade disputes, meaning “less income for pork producers and, ultimately, some of them going out of business.” China announced a new 25 percent tariff in response to U.S. action under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. That tariff is on top of the 25 percent punitive duty levied by China in early April in response to U.S. action under Section 232 of The Trade Expansion Act. U.S. pork already had a 12 percent tariff on exports to China. The country also has a 13 percent value-added tax on most agricultural imports. China represented 17 percent of total U.S. pork exports by value in 2017. NPPC President Jim Heimerl (Hi’-merle) added: “We need these trade disputes to end.”

Following implementation day of President Trump’s tariffs on China, the nation responded quickly to retaliate with previously threatened penalties on U.S. pork, beef, soybeans and automobiles. Meat industry publication Meatingplace reports China says Trump has “violated World Trade Organization rules and launched the largest trade war in economic history to date.” The first wave of tariffs was imposed Friday, which includes a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese products. The tariffs are expected to be followed by an additional wave on $16 billion of Chinese goods within the month. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. agricultural exports are sold to destinations that are in active negotiations or embroiled in trade disputes, according to CoBank. A CoBank spokesperson says: “Trade concerns pose the single greatest risk to the projected global economic growth of three to four percent.”

U.S. corn exports reached an all-time high of 7.7 million tons in the month of April. Through May, year-to-date corn shipments were estimated at 29 million metric tons. USDA projections for exports in the 2017/18 crop marketing year (September through August) were raised to 58.4 million metric tons. The previous monthly record for corn exports was set nearly 30 years ago, back in November of 1989. The projections for May exports, based on export inspections, are higher than usual at this time of year, suggesting continued strength in the U.S. corn export market. At least some of the reason may be due to a continuing drought in Argentina, a major corn supplier, which likely means reduced exports prospects there. In addition, Brazil is expected to have a poor corn crop this year, due in part to dry weather and less planted acreage for the second cropping season. As a result, countries in the market for corn have fewer options to choose from, which increases the competitiveness of U.S. corn.

President Donald Trump accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt on Thursday as head of the Environmental Protection Agency. The Senate has already confirmed Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler as the acting administrator. Bob Dineen of the Renewable Fuels Association says the resignation was needed. “For the past year, Scott Pruitt has been waging war on the Renewable Fuels Standard, the biofuels industry, as well as the millions of farmers and rural Americans that helped Donald Trump get elected,” Dineen says. “Mr. Pruitt evidently thought RFS stood for Refinery First Standard.” American Coalition for Ethanol Executive Director Brian Jennings says Pruitt’s fumbling of the ethanol issue is what brought him down. “Time and time again, we saw the White House make very specific promises,” Jennings says, “and time and time again, we saw Pruitt either fail to live up to those promises or do the exact opposite of what the president wanted.” Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor says Pruitt’s tenure put a definite strain on the relationship between the president and the rural Americans who played a big part in getting him elected to the office. National Corn Growers President Kevin Skunes says they were very frustrated with Pruitt’s actions and will continue pushing the agency to stop granting unjustified RFS waivers.

A Bloomberg report says President Donald Trump is threatening to put a tariff on every single import from China. The world’s two largest economies exchanged blows in a trade war that isn’t expected to end anytime in the near future. After months of trade rhetoric back and forth, a 25 percent tariff took effect on $34 billion Chinese goods entering the U.S. just after midnight, Washington time, on Friday. Farm equipment and airplane parts are just a couple of the many items targeted by the duties. China immediately hit back with duties on U.S. shipments, including soybeans and automobiles. Neither side appears to want to back down, either. Trump is already eyeing another $16 billion in tariffs and says the overall total could reach up to $500 billion. China’s Commerce Ministry is accusing the U.S. of “bullying” and igniting the “largest trade war in history.” Bloomberg says there is a risk that a spiraling conflict will undermine economic growth and inflict higher prices on both consumers and companies. The Federal Reserve has already noted that some firms have been slowing investments.

The USDA comment period on its proposed GMO labeling rule brought in more than 11,000 comments from farm groups, consumers, and multinational companies like Hershey’s. Politico says food manufacturers are at odds with farmers over which ingredients should actually be subject to disclosure. The companies are arguing that foods made with even some genetically modified corn, soybeans, and sugar beets need to have disclosures. On the other side of the debate, farmers say it’s not accurate to apply the labeling standard to highly refined foods because they often contain no detectable amounts of these products. The Center for Science in the Public Interest told Reuters that it actually agrees with both sides. Farmers are correct in arguing that their finished ingredients are no different scientifically to their GMO counterparts, but products should still be labeled. The group says, “USDA should read the statute broadly and provide consumers with as much information as possible, but it should be scientifically accurate. They need a different disclosure for highly refined ingredients.” Consumers, as well as some lawmakers, were more concerned about the new language. USDA has suggested using the term or symbol “BE” or “bioengineered” instead of “GMO” or “GM” for genetically modified.

Chinese companies who’ve committed to buying soybeans from the U.S. through the year ending on August 31st are likely to cancel those shipments once the extra tariff on U.S. imports kicks in on Friday. As the world’s top soybean buyer, China has yet to take delivery of about 1.14 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans booked for the current marketing year. USDA reported that China recently resold 123,000 tons of committed deliveries to Bangladesh and Iran. A Bloomberg article calls soybeans a key “flash-point” in the worsening trade relations between the U.S. and China after officials in Beijing said they would levy tariffs on imports starting on July 6th in response to more duties imposed by the Trump Administration. There will be a few shipments that get through because shipments with products intended for state reserves are tariff-free. However, a Shanghai investment manager tells Bloomberg that most of the other shipments will be canceled after the tariffs go into effect because the rate will be too high and crushers will lose money. China has already begun to contract for a higher number of shipments for soybeans from Brazil. Supplies are currently high but projected to run out in the fourth quarter of this year if China doesn’t take any U.S. soybeans.

The polarizing tenure of Scott Pruitt as head of the Environmental Protection Agency has come to an end. President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday afternoon that he’s “accepted the resignation of Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,” noting that Pruitt has done a “good job within the Agency.” The Senate has already confirmed Deputy Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who will take over as the acting Administrator next week. The departure of Pruitt follows months of scrutiny that gathered momentum following reports that Pruitt had rented a Capitol Hill condominium from an energy lobbyist on very favorable rental terms. There were already concerns about the high cost of Pruitt’s travel and security detail, as well as the allegations of Pruitt fostering a working environment filled with workplace retaliation and wasteful spending. The steady flow of news stories prompted multiple government agencies to inquiries into Pruitt and the agency, which still faces over a dozen probes into spending, ethics, and policy decisions.