The U.S. is currently discussing the possibility of steel and aluminum tariff exemptions with a handful of other countries. A Reuters report says America is currently in talks with the European Union, Australia, and Argentina. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer testified before the House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday that President Donald Trump will soon make a decision on imposing tariffs against China. Washington has accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property. A separate Reuters report says the president may target up to $60 billion in imports from China, using a mixture of tariffs and investment restrictions. Lighthizer told the committee that, “We’re losing to China in ways that are not reflective of the underlying economics.” Brazil is also a possibility when it comes to discussing tariff exemptions. South Korea is an exemption possibility, but Lighthizer says those discussions would take place during the negotiations to update the U.S. trade agreement with South Korea, known as KORUS. The U.S. has already granted tariff exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

German chemical company Bayer was given conditional European Union approval in its acquisition of Monsanto. A Dow Jones report says the takeover bid, which is worth more than $60 billion, was only approved after both companies agreed to divest themselves of assets worth more than $7.3 billion dollars, in order to ease antitrust concerns. As a large part of the divestiture, Bayer plans to sell company assets to BASF, including most of its global broad acre seed and trait business, as well as three lines of research for non-selective herbicides. Monsanto’s nematode seed-treatment assets will also be sold to BASF, which will also buy Bayer’s entire vegetable seeds business. The EU Competition Commission also says that Bayer and BASF will have to prove that BASF can be an active competitor of the merged company. The acquisition can only be finalized if and when the commission signs off on the BASF acquisitions. The Dow Jones report quotes the Competition Commission Chair as saying their decision ensures that there will be effective competition and innovation in seeds, pesticides, and digital agriculture markets after the merger is complete.

An Agri-Pulse report says it appears that the Trump administration will not be putting a cap on the price of biofuel credits, known as Renewable Identification Numbers. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the administration will more likely try to bring down the cost of RINs through a vapor pressure waiver that will increase demand for E-15. That’s the outcome favored by the ethanol industry. Perdue described the possible scenario at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Perdue says, “We will not see RIN prices capped, but market prices, affecting the RVP waiver, that allows E-15 to be sold year round, which we believe will increase RIN availability and drive down the prices.” The report says it’s important to remember that the uncertainty created by President Trump’s discussions on biofuel policy have already knocked down RIN prices considerably. It’s interesting to note that since the discussions began in October, when RIN prices were at 98 cents, they’ve now dropped to 38 cents as of last week. “The conversation has already been helpful in that area of driving RIN prices down,” Perdue adds.

(KSCorn) Science teachers will receive free STEM-based training and materials at the Seed to STEM summer workshops sponsored by Kansas Corn. This is the third year of the popular two-day workshops that provide classroom instruction and labs using the topics of biotechnology and ethanol to bring science to life in high school and middle school classrooms. Over the past two years, 95 science educators have completed the workshop that offers lessons and labs that meet the Next Generation Science Standards using agriculture as a focus. In addition to lessons and lab experiments focused on biotechnology and ethanol, the workshop includes a farm and field visit, an industry dinner and a field trip to an ethanol plant. Each science teacher who participates will walk away with valuable lab materials. The deadline for science teachers to apply for the workshops is April 24. The two-day workshops will be held June 20-21 in Ottawa and June 26-27 in Wichita.

The European Union and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross are meeting in Washington, D.C. this week to consider a potential tariff exemption. The EU is exploring an exemption from President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, according to Politico. The EU is seeking “more clarity” on the criteria on which such an exemption could be granted. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has named five criteria for a potential exclusion from the tariffs, but EU diplomats have criticized them on the basis that they have been left purposely vague. Any EU exemption to the tariffs must be finalized by Thursday, at the latest, as the tariffs take effect Friday. Last week, the EU made public its retaliation targets, which include U.S. rice, cranberries, peanut butter and products from cotton, along with bourbon and U.S. motorcycles. Absent from the list, for now, is dairy products, which were expected from federal lawmakers in Wisconsin. The EU list is far from final, however, as a comment period is open to allow the EU to gather further target suggestions.

Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee have asked ranking member Collin Peterson to stop negotiating on the farm bill until Chairman Mike Conaway releases the bill to the full committee. Roll Call reports Peterson is heeding the request, and says the move “will give the members information about what is actually being proposed.” The proposed farm bill reportedly included many changes and cuts to the nutrition title, and Democrats “unanimously oppose” the changes described to them and reported in the press,” according to Peterson. Committee Democrats question the changes, stating: “At no point during the committee’s 23 hearings on SNAP was there testimony in favor of radical reforms to SNAP.” Chairman Conaway had hoped to begin markup on the farm bill in committee this month. As others have pointed out, The proposed farm bill seems similar to the current farm bill, which originally included changes to the nutrition title, but failed to pass a vote in the House.

(NCGA) Concerns continue this week that the Trump Administration could decide to strike a deal for oil refiners that would have immediate and lasting effects for ethanol demand and, therefore, for corn prices as well. The National Corn Growers Association has started running a major advertising campaign in the nation’s capital to get President Trump, your Members of Congress and USDA to understand the economic challenges farmers are facing today and the direct role a healthy ethanol market plays for the future of family farms. The proposal from the oil industry, being considered by the President, could cut farm income almost $4 billion dollars per year for the next two years. There are better solutions, including RVP parity to allow year-round sale of blends greater than 10 percent, which lowers RIN values to address refiners’ concerns by blending more ethanol. NCGA is communicating with key players in Washington, through an aggressive digital advertising campaign operating under the theme of “Mr. President: Don’t Cap Our Future.”