The American Soybean Association this week announced it will join Farmers for Free Trade. Representing soybean farmers across the nation, ASA is joining the bipartisan campaign self-described as “amplifying the voices of American farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses that support free trade.” ASA CEO Ryan Findlay says agriculture needs “strong likeminded allies” in advocating for new trade agreements and expanding international markets. Other agriculture groups already a part of the campaign include the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Pork Producers Council, and other agriculture groups. With soybean farmers facing the brunt of the ongoing trade war, leadership of Farmers for Free Trade say ASA joining the campaign will “amplify the voices” of soybean farmers in Washington D.C. so decision makers “know the pain that tariffs are causing at the local level.”

The U.S. and China are trying to restart trade talks as the two nations square off in a trade war. The attempt comes as the Trump administration readies a new round of tariffs against China. Bloomberg reports representatives of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and China’s Vice Premier are having private conversations as they look for ways to re-engage in negotiations. No timetable was offered, as the issues and format for any talks are not final, but both sides do apparently agree that more talks need to take place. The U.S. and China have been exchanging tariff announcements that started with Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs earlier this year. Negotiations have been stalled for weeks with both sides digging in. The U.S. and China have offered little indication publicly any will to restart negotiations. Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the trade tension with China are a “chronic problem,” while a trade official from China accused the U.S. of “extortion.”

The Senate Wednesday named members to the farm bill conference committee following action a day earlier to move forward with the conference process. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell named himself to the committee, along with Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, and fellow Republicans John Boozman of Arkansas, John Hoeven of North Dakota and Joni Ernst of Iowa. Meanwhile, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer named ranking Agriculture Committee member Debbie Stabenow, and fellow Democrats Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota to the committee. The Hagstrom Report notes that Republican leadership followed seniority in their choices. The Democrats skipped over four more senior members – Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Joe Donnelly of Indiana – to name Heitkamp, who has a tough re-election race in a state in which agriculture is particularly important to the economy.

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control finds fish and chicken as the most linked foods for foodborne disease outbreaks. Over a six-year period, the CDC analyzed more than 5,700 foodborne disease outbreaks that result in more than 100,000 illnesses and 145 deaths. Norovirus was the most common disease, followed by Salmonella. Multistate outbreaks comprised of only three percent of all outbreaks reported but accounted for 11 percent of illnesses, 34 percent of hospitalizations, and 54 percent of deaths. Among 1,281 outbreaks in which the food reported could be classified into a single food category, fish led the way at 17 percent, and chicken, at ten percent. However, chicken, pork and seeded vegetables were responsible for the most outbreaks, overall. The CDC says the report highlights the continued need for food safety improvements targeting worker health and hygiene in food service settings.

In a letter to lawmakers, National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson emphasized the need to address agricultural economic hardships in the 2018 farm bill. The NFU Board of Directors unanimously approved the motion to send the letter during a meeting held Monday afternoon. With an already grim farm economy, an escalating global trade war and uncertainty in export markets has pushed prices even lower in the last month, worsening farmers’ financial stress. While the Department of Agriculture announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers, NFU’s Johnson stressed the package was not enough, adding Congress should provide “substantive and long-term relief to farmers” as part of the 2018 farm bill. Johnson says congressional inaction “will have very tangible and harmful impacts as farmers and ranchers get closer to fall harvest.”

The United States and Mexico are progressing on the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiations, leaving Canada behind, for now. Top trade officials from Mexico are in the U.S. this week after optimism showed through last week with a potential agreement on automotive rules as part of NAFTA, according to Politico, which notes progress on the contentious issue bodes well for farmers wishing for the certainty a NAFTA 2.0 would promise. As for Canada, however, the nation is largely on the sidelines this week, as an international trade lawyer told Politico that the U.S. is “pretty frustrated with Canada,” accusing them of “foot-dragging.” President Trump has announced his desire previously to wrap up talks with Mexico before reaching an agreement with Canada, even though Canada and Mexico have also vowed to stick to three-way negotiations. The White House is hopeful progress with Mexico will pressure Canada to act or even concede on trade issues, like it’s dairy supply management system.

The U.S. and Mexico are nearing an agreement on the trade of automobiles as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation effort. Politico reports the U.S. and Mexico are in the “final stages” of reaching a deal on the automotive rules of origin section of NAFTA, key to completing the renegotiation. A team of negotiators is in Washington, D.C. this week to continue the talks. However, other issues within the negotiations, including a sunset provision and dispute settlement, along with dairy trade, remain unsettled. President Trump has leaned towards striking a deal with Mexico first, before moving on to hashing out details with Canada. However, officials from Canada and Mexico agree that any final deal would be trilateral between the three nations. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said last week that finishing the talks with Mexico could put pressure on Canada to reach an agreement. Scrapping Canada’s dairy supply management system, a goal for the U.S. as part of the negotiations, remains “unacceptable,” according to trade officials from Canada.

Providing aid to industries impacted by negative trade policy could cost the nation $39 billion, according to new data by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Farmers are expected to receive a $12 billion aid package to lessen the burden of trade disputes by the Trump administration. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls farmers and ranchers the “hardest hit” by Trump’s trade policy, suffering deep economic losses. However, agriculture is not alone, and an analysis by the U.S. Chamber found that offering so-called bailouts to all industries affected by trade policies would cost taxpayers $39 billion. The Chamber says the administration’s focus should be expanding free trade and removing harmful tariffs, “not allocating taxpayer’s money to only marginally ease the suffering” for some of the industries feeling the pain of the trade war. Farmers and ranchers in unison have told the Trump administration they want trade, not aid.