Mexico and Canada were happy to hear about President’s Trump’s willingness to exclude them from tariffs on steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. However, they expect any talks about a possible permanent exemption to take place outside of the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Politico quotes the Mexican Economy Ministry in a release that says, “The process of negotiations for the NAFTA modernization continues on a course independent of this or any other internal political measure that the U.S. government takes.” Also, Canada “won’t rest until the prospect of these duties is fully and permanently lifted,” Cynthia Freeland told reporters in Toronto. She also says the tariff discussions and NAFTA negotiations are completely different, adding that, “We treat them on totally separate tracks.” However, Trump more directly tied Canada and Mexico’s exclusion from the tariffs to a successful NAFTA outcome. “We’re going to hold off the tariff on these two countries to see whether or not we can make a successful deal on NAFTA,” he said during a signing ceremony for the two proclamations that will impose the 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum. “National security is a very important aspect of this deal, and if we’re making the deal on NAFTA, this will figure into whether or not there are tariffs on Canada and Mexico,” says the president.

Reaction to the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has been mixed among different sectors of the economy. The Hagstrom Report says Business Roundtable President and CEO Joshua Bolten calls the tariffs a major unforced error by President Trump that will put America’s economic progress at risk. He says, “The tariffs will cause significant harm to industries that rely on imported steel and aluminum. Higher production costs mean higher prices, making American products more expensive, thereby putting American jobs at risk.” The Farmers for Free Trade Coalition says it expects that these tariffs will cause retaliation “that comes straight out of the pockets of American farmers.” American Soybean Association President John Heisdorffer says, “These tariffs are a disastrous course of action from the White House. We’ve already heard from China that U.S. soybeans are among the prime targets for retaliation.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka argues that there is no danger that Trump’s new tariffs will start a trade war, noting that there are already 435 U.S. tariffs in place to try and fight cheaters. Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul says 500 people are heading back to work for U.S. Steel because of Trump’s move to protect their industry.

Several Senators are leading a bipartisan push to improve broadband internet access in rural communities to ensure farmers and ranchers can take advantage of precision agriculture technology to better compete in the global market. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill joined Republican Senators Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Steve Daines of Montana, and Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jon Tester of Montana in backing legislation that would establish a task force made up of federal government officials and agricultural stakeholders to explore the unique needs of precision agriculture as it relates to broadband—with the goal of providing broadband to 95 percent of America’s crop and ranchlands by 2025. The bill is supported by the Missouri Farm Bureau Federation as well as other Farm Bureau’s from across the nation. “Missouri’s farmers and ranchers increasingly depend on a reliable internet connection to track crop yield, market their products, and conduct business more efficiently—but they’re at a disadvantage in the global marketplace without access to high-speed internet,” McCaskill said. “With a level playing field, no one outworks or outcompetes Missouri workers—and we’ve got to ensure they’ve got the tools to keep up in our changing economy.” Precision agriculture describes the use of mobile devices, robotics, field sensors, remote monitoring, and other technologies to manage agricultural production. Farmers and ranchers who use the technology can significantly increase crop yields, streamline operations, and reduce production expenses. In many areas of the country, reliable, high-speed internet connections are not consistently available to support precision agriculture operations.

As President Donald Trump has ratcheted up the conversation on trade, Canada is sticking to it’s “keep-calm” strategy. While the European Union immediately offered a list of targeted U.S. products in response to Trump’s tariff plan for steel and aluminum, Reuters says Canada is trying to stay constructive, and use negotiations for a better outcome. For now, the tariff plan rolled out by Trump includes exemptions for Canada and Mexico, if the three nations agree to a fair North American Free Trade Agreement. The mood by Canada reflects comments by Canadian trade officials who earlier this week said threatening retaliations and striking back at the U.S. “just irritates” President Trump. Although, officials say Canada does have a list of products for retaliation against the steel and aluminum tariffs, if warranted. Another trade official from Canada says “its pointless” to talk publicly about retaliation measures “until you have to act.”

President Donald Trump Thursday unveiled his plan to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel imports and ten percent on aluminum. The plan includes provisional exceptions for Canada and Mexico. However, the tariffs could trigger a trade war between the U.S. and the European Union and China, among others. Despite a large pushback by U.S. industry and trading partners, Trump is forging ahead with the plan that will go into effect in 15 days. The EU plans to retaliate and a fight at the World Trade Organization is also possible. Agriculture and industry groups fear the retaliations will harm the U.S. export market, and the U.S. rural economy. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Jeff Flake is said to be introducing legislation to block the tariffs, part of what Politico calls a growing GOP effort to overrule the president on trade. A senior administration official says all countries impacted are “welcome to discuss” alternative ways to address the so-called national security concerns Trump is citing, implying nations can negotiate trade agreements with the U.S. to squash the tariffs.

Kansas Corn Growers Association member, Santiago Tamagno, was honored during the 2018 Commodity Classic in Anaheim, California as a recipient of the William C. Berg Excellence in Agriculture scholarship. The National Corn Growers Association and BASF awarded the scholarship to five college students pursuing degrees in an agriculture-related field. Tamagno is a PhD student at Kansas State University studying agronomy. Once he completes his degree at K-State he wants to become an established scientist and collaborate with others toward creating global solutions to good security and crop production. “We are living in a time where massive amounts of data have become available for farmers and researchers,” Tamagno said. “It is a fascinating advancement that has allowed farmers to have more tools for easier decision-making that can lead to higher productivity.”

Industry and agriculture groups have formed a coalition to address the proposed steel and aluminum tariffs by President Donald Trump. The National Foreign Trade Council announced formation of the Alliance for Competitive Steel and Aluminum Trade this week. The coalition includes industrial and agriculture groups, such as the National Pork Producers Council, The American Soybean Association and U.S. Wheat Associates. In a statement announcing the coalition, organizers say members will meet with Congress and the Trump administration to express concerns about the downstream effects of the proposed tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, and the potential for foreign retaliation. The National Foreign Trade Council says the alliance is “deeply concerned about the effects that these tariffs will have” on U.S. sectors that use steel and aluminum. The coalition says the tariffs pose risks to U.S. consumers, exports and economic growth.

The Department of Agriculture will host a series of roundtable talks on opioid misuse. Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett Wednesday announced a series of monthly roundtables on opioids through the summer. The action follows the creation of Farm Town Strong, an effort by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Farmers Union and USDA to combat the opioid epidemic. Hazlett says the opioid epidemic in rural America goes beyond a public health issue, saying “this is a matter of rural prosperity.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2016 nearly 64,000 Americans died from a drug overdose, with an overwhelming majority of these overdose deaths involved an opioid. The first roundtable will be held March 14th in Pennsylvania, with events in Utah, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Maine scheduled throughout the summer. Key topics will include challenges associated with substance use disorder, strategies for prevention, treatment and recovery, and how th0se measures can be replicated to effectively address the epidemic in other rural communities.