The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union and Canada faces more opposition from an EU member country. Government officials in Austria are ready to confront the EU regarding Austria’s opposition because the agreement contains “many of the same problems as one being negotiated with the U.S.,” according to Reuters. The EU and the U.S. are embattled in negations of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which a trade official in Germany last month said talks on the deal had “de facto failed.” Combined with the political rhetoric in the U.S. against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, future global trade deals are on a shaky foundation, at best. In regards to TTIP and the Canada-EU deal, Austria reportedly has concerns the trade deals could compromise food safety standards. Political leaders in Austria also object to allowing companies to challenge government policies if a company feels regulations put create a disadvantage. The European Commission wants the Canada-EU trade deal approved by EU states before a planned EU-Canada summit at the end of October.

After a seven-week recess, Congress returns to session this week as many have little expectation lawmakers will accomplish much of anything with the November elections looming. Topping the discussion is likely to be the highly debated Zika virus funding, marred in a spat between Democrats and Republicans over last-minute additions to the bill. For agriculture, the wish list remains long regardless of the expectations. Farm groups plan to push support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is expected to be sent to Congress after the elections in the lame-duck session. One need for Congress before the election is the passage of appropriation bills, including funding for the Department of Agriculture. However, the expectation again is Congress will pass a catch-all spending bill, known as a continuing resolution. Farm Groups are also trying to jumpstart discussions on the next Farm Bill, saying pressure from falling commodity prices and lower farm income is forcing the need to reassess Farm Bill programs sooner rather than later. Senators say however, those discussions seem much more likely next spring. Energy and tax incentive bills are also issues likely to see some action in the short session before lawmakers head back to the campaign trail.

Activist delivered a public complaint to Germany’s Constitutional Court this week in hopes to scuttle a trade agreement between the European Union and Canada. The activist called the complaint the “biggest ever” against a trade agreement. Many see the deal as a template for a potential EU-U.S. agreement, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. The deal between the EU and Canada could increase trade between the two by 20 percent. However, many EU voters fear the agreement would give multinational corporations greater access to European markets without creating jobs, according to Reuters. Three groups opposing the deal delivered 70 boxes of documents with 125,000 signatures to the court this week. The groups argue the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement breaches Germany’s constitution, and want the court to stop implementation of the deal before its ratification by EU states.

Two U.S. Senators say Canada’s dairy pricing policies are harming trade and will negatively affect the U.S. dairy industry, jeopardizing the country’s trade commitment to the United States. Senate Democrats Chuck Schumer of New York and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are asking for the investigation regarding Canada’s recently announced National Ingredients Strategy and its already active Ontario Class VI (Six) pricing program. The Senators sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack alleging Canada’s program punishes processors in Canada for the use of imported dairy products. The U.S. Dairy Export Council in response to the letter says Canada has created a “deeply problematic” track record of instituting programs to “intentionally create roadblocks to dairy imports.” The dairy industry welcomed the call for an investigation.

Wheat industry groups welcomed Japan’s announcement to end the temporary ban of U.S. white wheat exports. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture announced imports resumed Thursday, with the purchase of 58,000 metric tons of U.S. white wheat. The Ministry had temporarily suspended new purchases following the July announcement by the Department of Agriculture that a small number of wheat plants were found in the U.S. containing unapproved, genetically engineered traits. The GE wheat resistant to the herbicide glyphosate was found in a fallow field in eastern Washington State. The U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers applauded the resumed imports by Japan Thursday. The groups say the “unexpected situation” caused only a minor disruption in trade because stakeholders “approached it in a reasonable way.”

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop Deere & Company from buying Monsanto’s Precision Planting farm equipment business. The Justice Department said the proposed deal would mean higher prices for farmers who want to buy equipment for high-speed precision planting, according to Reuters. In a statement, Deere announced the company would fight the lawsuit, calling the antitrust concerns “misguided.” Monsanto announced last year it would sell its Precision Planting unit to Deere, which makes the components of precision planters. The Justice Department said by offering farmers high-speed precision planting retrofit kits at a fraction of the cost of a new planter, “Precision Planting posed a formidable challenge to Deere and its profitable sales of new planters.” The deal is estimated to be worth $190 million.

Buyers from China have committed to buy nearly $1.8 billion worth of U.S. soy products, totaling 146 million bushels of U.S. soybeans. The U.S. Soybean Export Council announced the commitments this week. The Council held a signing ceremony at the Global Trade Exchange in Indianapolis, Indiana. China continues to be the top buyer of U.S. soybeans. More than a dozen Chinese representatives are in attendance this week at the Global Trade Exchange to network with U.S. farmers and learn more about U.S. soy products. Last year, U.S. soybean farmers exported a record 62.8 million metric tons of soy products, valued at a record high $27.7 billion. Economists are predicting even more in 2016.

Researchers are working to learn more about a little-known corn disease that has surfaced in nine states across the U.S. this summer. DTN reports the disease is known for now as bacterial leaf streak blight, which originated in South Africa. Colorado State University says there is limited information about the disease and its impacts on corn production. It’s possible the disease entered the U.S. two years ago, as researchers say the lack of information led to a delay in confirming the disease. Currently, researchers have no recommendations for farmers regarding management. Bacterial leaf streak has surfaced in field corn, seed corn, popcorn and sweet corn. Researchers say the disease has been confirmed in Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.