Rigged Self-Sufficiency U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer shared his protectionist views with members of the House Ways and Means Committee last week by saying, “I am a firm believer that the things we need to fight the pandemic should be made in America…I’m not in favor of reducing tariffs on the things we need. I would be far more in favor of increasing tariffs on the things we need.” This is a resignation to the adage that, “if you can’t beat em, join em.” After all, the Trump Administration has previously faulted India for using the approach of raising tariffs to the point that it is only possible to produce domestically rather than import. Former USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack re...
What You Need to Know Today: President Trump claimed the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was over, as both sides accused one another of violating the terms of the agreement. Commercial vessels are increasingly steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz as security risks escalate following Iran...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.