Lazy Trade Officials A hearing today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on the USMCA was revealing not for what has changed since NAFTA was replaced, but what has not changed. Republicans and Democrats took their usual partisan jabs at one another over which White House has failed, Trump or Biden, but the truth is that both have been a disappointment when it comes to enforcement. Although the hearing covered issues broadly, it was agriculture issues like dairy access in Canada and the lack of GMO approvals in Mexico that dominated. The USMCA includes specifically enhanced language on agricultural biotechnology but even under NAFTA Mexico had gone over two years without a biotech approval and without a formal complaint from...
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...
From WPI Consulting
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.