President Trump started tweeting between 4 and 5 a.m. this morning about the China trade negotiations, shortly after tariff rates on $200 billion of imports of China were hiked from 10 percent to 25 percent at 12:01 a.m. Additional tariffs could be in the works, but according to the president’s twitter account, so could a purchase of about $15 billion in commodities (destined for food aid donations). Following is a recap of how the tariffs have developed:
The 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports were announced on 21 September 2018 and levied on 24 September. The 21 September announcement included an escalator clause that provided a tariff rate increase to 25 percent on 1 January 2019. On 19 December...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
