The U.S. has set a hard deadline on the U.S.-Mexico sugar trade talks, backed up by a possible re-imposition of duties on Mexican sugar. Will that be the de facto beginning of NAFTA renegotiations?Yesterday was the deadline for the U.S. and Mexico to come to an agreement on bilateral sweetener trade. It would have superseded a deal reached in December 2014, referred to as the “suspension agreement” because it suspended the antidumping and countervailing duties the U.S. imposed on Mexican sugar. However, over two years of on-gain/off-again negotiations between the two countries have gone nowhere.The most recent talks started in late 2016 with a 4 April 2017 deadline, but that was moved to 1 May due to the change in U.S. administrations and a...
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...