Playing Down Tariffs President Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan last week conceded that “there is still work to be done bringing tariff levels down in many other countries” but insisted that there are other fundamental trade priorities than simply bringing down tariffs. The Administration is correct that nontariff barriers and regulatory standards are important, but agriculture groups note that tariffs or duties are the go-to tool for managing trade. The Biden Administration itself has used tariffs on steel, aluminum, solar panels and other goods as its preferred form of border measure. The whole safeguard system of countervailing and antidumping measures relies on tariffs. So the Administration can try to...
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) enters its mandated six-year review on 1 July. The original intent of the review is outlined in Article 34.7, which obligates members to: Provide recommendations and decide on appropriate actions. Extend the USMCA for another 16 years and meet aga...
Key Market Insights Geopolitical Limbo: Geopolitical risk remained a key driver across global commodity markets today. President Trump stated that the Iran memorandum of understanding is not yet final and warned that military action could resume if negotiations fail. Both sides continue w...
From WPI Consulting
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.