The American Salad Belt is largely on the West Coast and Congressional representatives mostly from that region have introduced legislation (The Specialty Crops Reporting on Opportunities and Promotion Act) intended to boost the export of crops like fruits and vegetables. The political representatives complain that these products produced by their constituents confront high tariffs, burdensome labeling requirements, and other trade barriers in other countries. Their legislation would boost USTR’s reporting requirements specifically on these specialty crops. Barriers to these products and to all others are already part of USTR’s annual National Trade Estimates report on trade barriers so this bill would change little from what is...
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to discuss agriculture and non-tariff trade barriers ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington later this month, potentially opening the door to additional U.S. agricultural purchases or improved marke...
The U.S. will observe Labor Day on Monday, 7 September. U.S. markets and the WPI office will be closed that day. The next edition of Ag Perspectives will be published Tuesday, 8 September...
Key Takeaways: Drought and changes to the multi-year trend in cow slaughter and retention have the potential to dramatically alter beef trim supplies and pricing, and WPI specifically models three different drought scenarios for fall 2026. Based on our models, WPI expects 90 percent lean...