419 Scam After meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, President Donald Trump said with confidence that Africa’s most populace country will “rip down” its barriers to U.S. agricultural exports. The boast seems highly unlikely to come to fruition for several reasons:
Nigeria’s tariffs are harmonized with the 15-member Economic Community of West African States. While Nigeria applies an average duty of 15.5 percent on agricultural imports, a 35 percent duty is permitted on items that the government wants to protect. Nigerian domestic politics exerts a great deal of influence in favor of import protection (poultry, pork, beef, vegetable oil, etc.).
President Buhari offered up an advance payme...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
