R-CALF this week filed a lawsuit with the Cattle Producers of Washington against the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding Country-of-Origin labeling, or COOL, for beef and pork. The suit alleges that USDA regulations that allow beef and pork to be classified as “domestic products,” even when those meat products are imported from other countries, confuse consumers and harm American farmers. U.S. COOL laws for meat were overturned by Congress in 2015 after the World Trade Organization granted retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. from Mexico and Canada. Under current USDA rules, however, multinational companies can sell meat raised and slaughtered abroad with a “Product of USA” label alongside domestic products raised by U.S. ranchers, according to the lawsuit. An attorney for the groups’ says “consumers understandably want to know where their food comes from,” adding that COOL would help consumers make informed choices, and be a boon for U.S. cattle ranchers.

The United States and the United Kingdom are set to explore a potential trade deal following a meeting of trade officials. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met with his British counterpart this week to discuss the groundwork for a potential bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and the U.K., according to Politico. However, any deal with the U.K. cannot be negotiated until Britain completes its exit from the European Union in early to mid-2019. But, working groups from the two can lay groundwork for a potential agreement before the exit. U.S. Commence Secretary Wilber Ross has said that the United States has made clear it is prepared to launch talks as soon as the U.K. is readyIN 2014, the U.K. was reported to rely on the EU for 27 percent of its food imports. Just four percent of food items in the U.K. originated from North America, and 54 percent of food consumed in the U.K., originated in the U.K., according to the U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Agriculture officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico in a joint statement Tuesday announced a shared commitment to keeping markets open and transparent. The trio of U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Mexico’s Agriculture Secretary and Canada’s Agriculture Minister, released the statement after meeting Tuesday in Georgia. The officials met to talk trade issues ahead of the U.S. led renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The statement said that the meeting “fostered the mutual understanding and personal relationships that will help North American agriculture thrive.” There was no offer on specific topics, but Bloomberg speculated earlier in the week that dairy and sugar trade issues were sure to be topping the list for Perdue. Canada remains committed to its supply management system for dairy, of which Perdue previously said “the supply has to be managed,” adding that Canada has “created a glut on the market.” Canada does not seem willing though to make changes to its system through NAFTA renegotiations.

President Donald Trump is nominating a former Senate Agriculture Committee aide and agriculture industry economist as the chief agricultural negotiator from the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office. The White House confirmed Gregg Doud as the nominee. Doud is currently the president of the Commodity Markets Council, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. He worked for the Senate Agriculture Committee between 2011 and 2013, and worked for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as an economist for eight years, according to Agri-Pulse. The American Farm Bureau Federation calls Doud “experienced in all levels of agricultural policy and economics.” If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Kansas native will take the post previously held by Darci Vetter in the Obama administration.

New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English says bilateral trade talks between New Zealand and the U.S. are not likely anytime soon. His comments follow meetings between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay last week. English says that given how the U.S. has framed trade policy as largely benefiting the U.S., that it “would be quite difficult to get an agreement that would benefit” New Zealand. However, during the meetings last week, McClay did express a mutual concern over Canada’s dairy trade provisions, a sticking point for the United States heading into North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations this fall. However, it’s not likely to be addressed in a new NAFTA, according to trade experts. Last year New Zealand exports to the U.S. were valued at $5.6 billion, and imports from the U.S. were valued at $5.7 billion. The U.S. is the biggest market for beef and wine from New Zealand, and the nation’s second-largest dairy market.

As the Unites States plans to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico have declined over the first few months of 2017. The Wall Street Journal reports that Mexican imports of U.S. soybean meal dropped 15 percent, the first decline in four years. Meanwhile, chicken exports to Mexico where down 11 percent, the biggest decline since 2003. Finally, U.S. corn exports to Mexico dropped six percent. Mexico is the largest export market for soybean meal, chicken and corn for the United States. The Wall Street Journal attributed the declines to friction between Mexico and the U.S. from NAFTA renegotiations, as Mexico is moving to reduce its reliance on the U.S. for commodities. The declines also come as U.S. farmers deal with low commodity prices and excess supply that has reduced farm income over the last few years.

President Donald Trump’s Friday announcement on reinstating limits on travel to and business with Cuba may result in lost economic opportunities for corporations, small businesses, and farmers. The new policy will keep U.S. companies from doing direct financial transactions with companies controlled by the Cuban military. Politico’s Morning Agriculture Report says the opportunity for American agriculture to export more products to Cuba may suffer under the new policy. The only buyer of U.S. agricultural goods in Cuba is called Alimport, a state-run entity that isn’t connected to the business arm of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, known as GAESA. Paul Johnson of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba, says agriculture will largely not have to worry about that. “However,” he says, “if you look closer at GAESA, they do have companies in distribution, logistics, and housing, so the paths are going to cross.” GAESA also controls the Port of Mariel, which is where most American goods coming into Cuba are received. Cuba has been limiting American agricultural imports while Latin American countries and the European Union have been making recent inroads into the Cuban market.

A new report out from CoBank says rising global demand for pork and stronger profitability will create a strong incentive for American pork processors to expand their capacity. Increased competition among processors may lead to a tightening of packer margins and give producers much more favorable prices in the months ahead. CoBank economist Trevor Amen says, “U.S. pork processing capacity will increase as much as 8-10 percent by 2019, when five processing facility construction projects are complete and fully operational.” He expects hog production to rise between two and four percent over the next two years to help meet the increasing demand. Small to mid-sized pork producers in the Midwest will likely account for the bulk of the increased production numbers. Three state of the art processing facilities are currently under construction, with two in Iowa and one in Michigan. Those facilities are expected to be able to process more than 10,000 hogs per day. Two smaller facilities in Missouri and Minnesota are currently being renovated. Amen says the traditional market response to increased capacity is price volatility in the short term, but bargaining leverage will eventually shift in favor of producers.