Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue says the United States and Japan have agreed on new terms and conditions that eliminate Japan’s longstanding restrictions on U.S. beef exports. That paves the way for expanded sales to the United States’ top global beef market.

Last week, Perdue met on the sidelines of the G-20 Agricultural Ministerial Meeting in Japan with government officials. Everyone in attendance affirmed the importance of science-based trade rules. The new terms take effect immediately, allowing U.S. products from all cattle, regardless of age, to enter Japan for the first time since 2003. The U.S. Meat Export Federation is pleased with the news, saying, “This is a major step toward putting BSE in the rearview mirror.”

USDA estimates that this expanded access could increase U.S. beef and beef product exports to Japan by up to $200 million annually. It’s also an important step in normalizing trade relations with Japan. It was back in 2003 that Japan banned U.S. beef and beef products following the detection of an animal with mad cow disease in the United States.

An agricultural economist from the University of Illinois says the next round of trade aid coming out of Washington, D.C. could impact planting in 2019. Politico says if the USDA should happen to model this aid package after the $12 billion it rolled out last year, it would dramatically skew incentives for Midwest farmers to plant soybeans this spring.

Scott Irwin of the University of Illinois says there are two reasons for this. The Market Facilitation Payment Program’s payment rate for soybeans came in at $1.65 a bushel, the highest of any commodity. That compared to a payment of one cent per bushel for corn. Payments were tied to actual production in 2018. Irwin says, “My guess is USDA will try to not tie payments to actual production in order to not affect farmers’ planting decisions.”

Irwin notes that lawmakers have tried for decades to make farm policy more market-oriented. He says this round could be modeled after the old direct payment system that was in effect before the 2014 Farm Bill. Many Midwestern producers actually still have time to change their plans because of the historically wet spring around the region.

The United States has reached a deal to lift the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico. A CNBC report says that removes a major obstacle to passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. The Canadian and American governments say the tariffs will end in a couple of days.

Canada will remove tariffs it levied on American goods in retaliation for the steel and aluminum tariffs. The countries will also drop all pending litigation before the World Trade Organization. While the U.S. and Canada officially announced the deal, Mexico hadn’t put out any kind of statement in mid-Friday afternoon. Trump mentioned the tariff removal during a speech to the National Association of American Realtors.

“I’m pleased to announce we’ve just reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to sell products without the imposition of major tariffs,” he said to the crowd. Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says, “Now that we’ve had a full lift on these tariffs, we are going to work with the United States on timing for ratification of USMCA.” He’s “optimistic” about moving the trade agreement forward in the weeks ahead.

The Farm Service Agency says it will begin to accept Conservation Reserve Program applications starting on June 3 from farmers who engage in certain practices. The agency will also offer extensions for expiring CRP contracts. FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce also says the FSA will not hold a general CRP signup until December. A Grasslands CRP signup will still be held later this year.

The Hagstrom Report says Fordyce announced the signups during a House Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee hearing. However, not everyone was pleased. House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson was furious with the announcement. Peterson said during the hearing that he would block the signup programs, even if he has to file suit against the USDA. Peterson believes that the continuous CRP will take up acreage that will go into the general sign-up. Much of the land that goes into the continuous CRP, which emphasizes improvements in water quality, “does almost zero good for wildlife,” Peterson says.

USDA is using rules under the 2014 Farm Bill for the continuous CRP signup but plans to engage in formal rulemaking for the general signup. Peterson doesn’t understand why USDA can hold one signup under the old rules and engage in rulemaking for the other.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the administration is close to “an understanding with Mexico and Canada” to remove tariffs that have been in place for almost a year and have heavily impacted U.S. agriculture. Politico says it’s not clear yet what the potential agreement between the three countries might include.

However, any tariff resolution would go a long way toward clearing a path to Congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement. That agreement is President Trump’s top trade achievement and his primary legislative priority this year. Democrats are already more optimistic about eventually passing the agreement following a meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Many lawmakers and Ag groups consider removing the tariffs even more important than the actual trade agreement.

Trump’s tariffs caused Canada and Mexico to retaliate with duties on $17 billion in U.S. exports, including a lot of foods and farm goods. Mexico’s Under Secretary for North America says instead of a quota system sought by the administration, one proposal would involve a tracking system designed to prevent other countries from bypassing tariffs by shipping steel and aluminum through Mexico.

A Reuters report says the Trump Administration made it easier for oil refiners to get waivers from the Renewable Fuels Standard. They did so at least four months before the 2017 court decision the administration uses to justify the move to the corn lobby.

The Reuters report says the move was motivated by a desire to save the oil industry a lot of money. The timing and motivation for the Environmental Protection Agency’s policy change were revealed through court documents and an interview with a former top agency official. It hadn’t been previously reported and reinforces corn industry concerns that the decision to expand the waiver program was made by the EPA.

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa says, “EPA repeatedly told Congress its hands were tied and blamed the courts. That appears to have been a lie. EPA also said it was following the Department of Energy’s recommendations. We know that’s bunk.” Grassley issued a statement saying he was going to “get to the bottom of this.” The waivers saved the oil industry hundreds of millions of dollars.