Export Market Development and International Food Assistance Grow in Importance, NAWG President Tells Congress
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) thanks National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Nicole Berg for highlighting the vital role of international food aid programs and export market development programs to the U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee. Berg, a wheat farmer from Paterson, Wash., testified on April 6 at the subcommittee’s hearing […]
China Exceeded Annual Wheat TRQ Volume in 2021
China’s latest customs numbers are in, and the news is significant. After clearing 933,500 metric tons of wheat through customs in December, China in calendar year 2021 exceeded its 9.636 million metric ton (MMT) annual wheat TRQ (tariff rate quota) established in its World Trade Organization (WTO) membership. The official tally was 9.718 MMT of […]
Congress Shines Spotlight on India’s Trade-Distorting Domestic Wheat and Rice Support
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) is very pleased that several members of Congress have asked Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to pursue a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against India’s trade-distorting domestic wheat and rice support. In separate letters to those officials, members of the U.S. Senate and House of […]
U.S. Agricultural Organizations Ask for Positive Reforms at the World Trade Organization
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) recently joined a coalition of several U.S. agricultural organizations calling on the Biden Administration to work toward reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO) “that lead to a market opening agenda for agriculture and a better functioning institution.” USW signed the July 23, 2021, letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai […]
Chinese Government Grain Policy TRQ Dispute Moving Ahead
By Ben Conner, Partner, DTB AgriTrade Over the last several years, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and other industry groups have demonstrated how the policies of a few advanced developing countries are distorting world wheat trade and hurting farmers in the United States and other wheat exporting countries. Chinese government grain policy attracted special attention, leading […]
Only an Act of Congress Can Open the Cuban Wheat Market
It is a country that imports about 800,000 metric tons of wheat each year, a mere 90 miles from the United States. Yet the Cuban wheat market has long been a source of optimism and frustration for U.S. wheat farmers. With the change in administrations, there is hope for re-engagement with Cuba, but ultimately the […]
World Trade Organization (WTO) Rules Matter to Farmers and Buyers
By Ben Conner, Partner, DTB Associates The World Trade Organization (WTO) is preparing for its 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in Geneva at the end of the year; meanwhile, there is widespread concern that the organization is drifting into irrelevance. But for U.S. farmers, the rules established by the WTO are directly relevant to their work […]
Rail Merger Proposals Should Improve Competition, Hold Down Wheat Shipping Rates
On March 21, 2021, Canadian Pacific (CP) Railways announced a $25 billion plan to merge with Kansas City Southern (KCS), calling it a “transformative” remake of the freight-rail industry. The proposed new railroad would be the first U.S.-Mexico-Canada-linked rail line. Not to be outdone, Canadian National Railway (CN) began talks with KCS in late April, […]
Farm to Fork and the Agricultural Innovation Agenda
By Ben Conner, Partner, DTB Associates, LLP The year 2020 will be known for many things, but one overlooked development that could have far-reaching consequences for global food security and sustainability was the juxtaposition of the European Commission’s Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy and the USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA) at the beginning of that […]
One Year Later – Phase One Trade Deal with China Producing Results for U.S. Wheat
By Dalton Henry, USW Vice President of Policy Just over a year ago, on Jan. 15, 2020, the U.S.-China “Phase One” agreement was signed, leading to the eventual waiver of China’s retaliatory tariffs against U.S. agricultural products. Those actions opened the door again to the largest wheat consumer in the world after nearly two years […]