Endless Stalemate U.S. agricultural trade lobbyists are becoming frustrated that two key nominees are being held up on Capitol Hill. However, part of the problem is USTR. Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) says his hold on the appointment of Doug McKalip to be chief agriculture negotiator is because USTR is refusing to become more transparent, including opposing the establishment of an inspector general. The stalemate is unlikely to end soon because USTR has lots of other personnel, and one appointee does not change much. Wages and Growth President Joe Biden has made it clear that he wants companies to pay their employees more, and to charge consumers less. He should be happy that employers added 263,000 jobs in November and boost...
What You Need to Know Today: There has already been a strong run of flash soybean sales announcements in recent weeks, but more than 1.4 MMT reported this morning is an exceptionally large single-day total with major implications for the market. If the sales to China and unknown destinations w...
On Friday, at 6:57 AM, President Donald Trump announced, via a social media post, a 90-day window during which up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef could be imported outside of tariff-rate quotas—a move aimed at bringing down costs for American consumers. This is the secon...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.