Some countries have reacted harshly to the tariffs imposed by President Trump, while other countries responded more mutedly or negotiated a settlement. Canada initially retaliated but has now unilaterally reversed some of its retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. after deeming them predominantly self-harming. This fits with the general economic view that tariffs are a self-imposed tax. The Trump formula for tariffs was quasi-based on the level of the trade deficit and has been much criticized. Tariffs are contrary to the benefits of free trade, a laudable if unrealistic ideal given politics. The agriculture sector is often the farthest from free trade given societal empathy for farmers and idealization of food self-sufficiency. In its...
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
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.