Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa is in D.C. to talk trade. During a two-hour meeting with various officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Akazawa called for a review of recent U.S. tariffs, and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said today Japan will not sacrifice its national...
Transportation and Freight Market Comments - 2 May 2025 By Matt Herrington Dry-Bulk Ocean Freight Dry bulk markets are finding some support from spot and 30-day demand but the Section 301 rules are depressing grain demand past July. Cargo orders from northern Brazil are increasing as South Amer...
Monumental Task Luke Lindberg appeared before the Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday to be interviewed for the position of USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Because of the higher levels of protectionism in agriculture around the world, it is a tough position e...
Canadians reacted with understandable revulsion to President Trump’s insults to their nation. In yesterday’s election, they were given two choices: elect Conservative Pierre Poilievre as prime minister who pledged to build a better and stronger nation, or choose Liberal Mark Carney...
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.