Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 percent at the beginning of the year to 13 percent by year-end. It then spiked in April and May, when tariffs on Chinese goods were raised by 125 percentage points, before being reversed by 115 percentage points in mid-May. These new tariffs have an impact on the exporter, the U.S. importer, and the final consumer in the U.S. A look at the chart below shows the impact of the tariffs from 2017, 2024, and 2025 – the order of the countries is based on the 2017 import market share. These seven exporters accounted for approximately 80 percent of U.S. imports in 2017, with Chinese goods making up nearly 25 percent of total imports that year. Following a 9-pe...
What You Need to Know Today: The June jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 57k jobs, less than the 115k jobs expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The labor force participation rate dropped by 0.3 percent to 61.5 percent, the lowest since March 2021, and the lowest in 50 ye...
On 4 July 2026, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. In observance of the Fourth of July holiday, Ag Perspectives will not be published on Friday, 3 July. We will resume our normal publication schedule on Monday, 6 July...
Today was the deadline for announcing intentions regarding renewal of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA); the U.S. will not renew the USMCA, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. President Trump will instead pursue separate bilateral trade deals with Canada and Mexico las...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.