U.S. President Donald Trump joined leaders from Mexico and Canada in signing the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. Trump gathered together with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the sidelines of the G20 meeting going on in Buenos Aires. The revised agreement will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. At the signing, Trump says the new agreement will “change the trade landscape forever.” Now comes the challenging part: lawmakers in each country still need to ratify the agreement. That may prove to be extra difficult in the U.S. because Democrats are taking control of the House of Representatives in January. Several Democrats have already been very vocal in wanting changes to the agreement. The CBC news website says the final vote could even be close in the U.S. Senate. Some Republican Senators have been critical of Trump’s trade policies. However, under the rules of fast-track authority, changes are not supposed to be made after a legal document has been officially signed.
Category: Agriculture
Flurry of Action Holds Major Ag Implications

A flurry of activity over the last week could bode well for agriculture. Over the weekend, President Trump met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit with China, which has since agreed to purchase more U.S. ag products. Trump also agreed to not further increase tariffs on China in January. Meanwhile, following the signing of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, Trump said he wants to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement in six months, which will be replaced by the USMCA. The move to terminate NAFTA is an effort to pressure the next Congress to approve the USMCA. Lawmakers could also soon take up the farm bill, which some thought could come this week, though the schedule of Congress is muddied by the passing of President George H.W. Bush, who will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for a portion of this week. Trump also said he may also be willing to allow an extension to appropriation bills that are needed by Friday, which include funding to the Agriculture Department, because of the expected limited schedule this week for Congress. All this comes as a fresh farm economic forecast predicts that farm income could drop another 12 percent in the next year.
Friday’s Closing Grain Bids
November 30th, 2018
St Joseph |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.62 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
8.40 – 8.44 |
LifeLine Foods |
3.66 |
|
|
|
Atchison |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.64 – 3.66 |
Soybeans |
8.39 |
Hard Wheat |
4.51 |
Soft Wheat |
4.40 |
|
|
|
Kansas City Truck Bids |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.71 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
8.60 – 8.65 |
Hard Wheat |
5.02 |
Soft Wheat |
5.06 |
Sorghum |
5.65 – 5.74 |
For more information, contact the 680 KFEQ Farm Department.
816-233-8881.
Trump joins Canada, Mexico leaders to sign NAFTA replacement deal
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Donald Trump joined the leaders of Canada and Mexico at a global meeting in Argentina on Friday to sign a revised North American trade pact that he called “groundbreaking” and a benefit for “working people.”
President Trump Participates in the USMCA Signing Ceremony https://t.co/ITeDQ39ZrN
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 30, 2018
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is meant to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump has long denigrated as a “disaster.”
He appeared with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires for the formal signing ceremony. Each country’s legislature must also approve the agreement.
“It’s been long and hard. We’ve taken a lot of barbs and a little abuse, but we got there,” Trump said of the pact.
Legislative approval is the next step in the process, but could prove to be a difficult task in the United States, especially now that Democrats — instead of Trump’s Republicans — will control the House of Representatives come January. Already Democrats and their allies in the labor movement are demanding changes to the agreement.
While Trump hailed the revised trade pact, Trudeau was more measured, saying there was still work to be done and calling on Trump — using his first name — to remove steel and aluminum tariffs the U.S. imposed on Canada and Mexico. Trudeau also referenced recent downsizing by General Motors in North America as a “heavy blow.” Trump did not mention the job losses.
The signing came at the front end of two days of tough diplomacy for Trump. On the top of his agenda is a Saturday dinner meeting with Chinese President Xi Jingping. which will determine if the two can ease escalating trade tensions. Before Trump arrived in Argentina he injected additional drama into the proceedings by canceling another high-stakes meeting, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Trump opened the day with a cordial meeting at the Casa Rosada with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, a longtime business acquaintance. Posing for photos in the gilded Salón Blanco, Trump spoke about their longtime personal relationship and said they would discuss trade, military purchases and other issues.
“We’ve known each other a long while,” Trump said, noting he worked with Macri’s father on real estate developments. The businessman-turned-politician joked that when he and Macri first met they’d never have imagined their future roles on the world stage.
Macri is hosting the summit as he struggles with problems at home. He is trying to halt economic turmoil that has caused the steep depreciation of the Argentine peso.
Trump, who arrived in Buenos Aires late Thursday, barreled into the two-day meeting by announcing via Twitter that he was canceling a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian vessels. His agenda for the weekend includes meetings with world leaders, as well as a number of heavily choreographed group activities for the gathering of leaders of rich and developing nations.
Trump faces a series of diplomatic challenges over the weekend, most notably whether he can strike an agreement with Xi.
The president canceled on Putin not long after his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, revealed he had lied to Congress to cover up that he was negotiating a real estate deal in Moscow on Trump’s behalf during the Republican presidential primary in 2016. The news ensured any meeting with Putin would have put a spotlight on the special counsel’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the campaign. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Trump showed that the Russia investigation was testing his ability to stay focused on summit business after he blasted the investigation in a fresh tweet on Friday, again calling it a “Witch Hunt!”
One looming question is whether Trump will have a run-in with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid global dismay over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that the Saudi crown prince must have at least known of the plot to kill Khashoggi, who was critical of the Saudi royal family. Lawmakers in both parties have called on Trump to at least avoid the young heir apparent as punishment.
But Trump publicly announced his decision to effectively give the prince a pass in the name of “America First,” making vastly exaggerated claims of Saudi military contracts and investments in the United States. The president also views Saudi Arabia as a vital counterbalance to Iranian influence in the Middle East.
Asked Thursday why the two had no meeting scheduled, Trump said: “I would have met with him but we didn’t set that one up.”
With his “America First” approach, general distaste for multinational deals and habit of insulting allies, Trump typically gets a mixed reception at global gatherings.
Trump has slapped tariffs on the European Union, pulled the U.S. out of the landmark Paris Climate Accord and the Iran nuclear deal and suggested he might be willing to pull the U.S. out of NATO if member countries don’t significantly boost their defense spending.
NCGA Submits U.S.-Japan Trade Objectives
National Corn Growers Association President Lynn Chrisp this week submitted NCGA’s negotiating objectives for a United States-Japan Trade Agreement to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Japan is the second largest market for U.S. corn exports, and U.S. corn farmers have been a reliable supplier to the market for more than 50 years, according to NCGA. Chrisp says corn farmers have “long counted on Japan” as a leading export market, a market that the industry has spent decades developing. NCGA has been advocating for a formal trade agreement with Japan for years. NCGA’s top priorities for the negotiation are to secure market access for corn amid intensifying competition from other corn suppliers, to improve market access for other corn co-products, and to address technical, sanitary and phytosanitary, and other non-tariff barriers to trade between the parties, allowing for more efficient trade flows.
Trump, China’s Xi, To Talk Trade This Weekend
The long-awaited meeting between President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping (Shee Jihn’-ping) this weekend brings hope of eased trade tensions between the two nations. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Argentina Saturday as agriculture, and other sectors hope the two reach a ”ceasefire” in the tit-for-tat tariff war. Bloomberg News reports such a truce could at the least delay an escalation of the trade conflict. The Trump administration argues any progress would be the result of the pressure Trump as placed on China, being the $250 billion of tariffs, with the threat of more to come. China has retaliated by targeting U.S. agriculture. China is missing allies for the talks, according to Bloomberg, as Larry Kudlow of the Trump National Economic Council said this week “the rest of the world agrees with us,” regarding China’s trade practices.
Farm Bill Agreement in Principle
An agreement in principle on the farm bill brings the legislation closer to completion, with hopes remaining that Congress can finish the bill this year. The so-called big four of the conference committee announced the agreement Thursday morning. Leaders of the farm bill conference committee, Senators Pat Roberts and Debbie Stabenow, along with Representatives Mike Conaway and Collin Peterson, now wait for cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, along with finalizing language. Before the bill is completed, the conference report must be finalized, and both chambers of Congress must pass the bill by the end of the year. Both the House and Senate plan to adjourn in mid-December, wrapping up a busy lame-duck session. The bill is not expected to include strict work requirements under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to Politico. Lawmakers also confirmed this week requested last-hour changes to the forestry title by the Trump administration will not be included. However, Stabenow suggested those measures be considered outside of the farm bill during the lame-duck session.
Thursday’s Closing Grain Bids
November 29th, 2018
St Joseph |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.55 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
8.32 – 8.37 |
LifeLine Foods |
3.60 |
|
|
|
Atchison |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.55 – 3.60 |
Soybeans |
8.32 |
Hard Wheat |
4.31 |
Soft Wheat |
4.21 |
|
|
|
Kansas City Truck Bids |
|
Yellow Corn |
3.64 |
White Corn |
no bid |
Soybeans |
8.52 – 8.57 |
Hard Wheat |
4.76 |
Soft Wheat |
4.67 – 4.72 |
Sorghum |
5.54 – 5.63 |
For more information, contact the 680 KFEQ Farm Department.
816-233-8881.
EPA Rejects Requests to Reallocate Displaced RFS Gallons
The Environmental Protection Agency will not reallocate waived biofuel volumes in 2019. The agency denied a request by the corn and ethanol industries to reallocate any biofuel volumes lost to small refinery waivers next year, according to Reuters. Expansion of the waivers, which were unused under the Bush and Obama administrations, threatens demand for corn and corn-based ethanol. The Renewable Fuel Standard requires oil refiners to blend biofuels each year or purchase blending credits. However, the small refiner waivers exempt any refinery that proves complying with the RFS causes them financial strain. The corn industry points out that some of the world’s largest oil companies have received waivers from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, an EPA official this week also said that the 2019 annual biofuel mandate figures were set to be largely in line with the agency’s June proposal of 19.88 billion gallons.
Western Caucus Members Urge Adoption of Active Forest Management
Members of the Congressional Western Caucus issued a statement condemning obstruction of active fire management policies by Senate Democrats. The statement says the 2018 deadly and destructive wildfire season has further solidified the need for active forest management provisions found in the House-passed farm bill. The group sent a letter to the farm bill conference committee urging the inclusion. However, farm bill conference committee members reported Wednesday afternoon that leadership decided against any sweeping forestry title reforms, which has been the latest hold up in the farm bill debate. More than 52,000 wildfires have burned more than 8.5 million acres this year alone. The caucus, currently comprised of all Republicans, is open to all political parties. Opposition to the House plan has said that active forest management could “devastate forests” and “wipe out plants and animals.”