World Perspectives

Final Hours of Policy Flurry and Fury

Congress is hitting the home stretch and policy making is at a frenzied paced. Following is a recap and some thoughts on implications. At this point, there are few details available as there are many moving parts. It will be a long weekend for policymakers and their staffs, and many long hours between now and Christmas. Phase One of the U.S.-China Deal The phase one deal that has been reached reportedly is the same structure as agreed to in principle in October. If so, that would mean the U.S. will not increase tariffs on 15 December, there will also be some reductions in duties on other Chinese goods now subject to tariffs. There aren’t details yet, other than the U.S. will modify the Section 301 “in a significant way.”...

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Summary of Futures

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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