Safeguards and Security The Trump administration specifically asserted the “national security” rationale in applying duties to imported steel and aluminum because of its exception under WTO rules. However, China and now the EU as well as others are challenging that characterization. The U.S. has conceded to consultations on the matter at the WTO, but it is with the caveat that they are without prejudice to their basis. Notably, it is reported that the EU is also negotiating with the U.S. on a separate trade agreement approach for avoiding the duties. In truth, the national security claim is a bit thin, but contrary to the assertion of U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas), countries like China do not open their market based on...
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.
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...