Presented by the National Confectioners Association
With help from Catherine Boudreau
Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Agriculture is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Agriculture subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. Learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services at www.politicopro.com.
Quick Hits
— President Donald Trump today is expected to announce a mini trade deal with China today that will make good on his promise of Beijing making major purchases of U.S. farm goods.
— The FDA has identified a potential source for three recent, separate E. coli outbreaks: A romaine lettuce grower in Salinas, Calif.
— Congressional leaders say they’ve reached an early agreement on funding the government through fiscal 2020. No word yet on how conference negotiations settled the House and Senate’s different approaches to the relocation of USDA research agencies.
HAPPY FRIDAY, DEC. 13! Welcome to Morning Ag, where your host laughed out loud at this brutal review of the House Members Dining Room by Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema. Send tips to lcrampton@politico.com, and follow us @Morning_Ag.
Driving the Day
AT LAST, A (LIMITED) U.S.-CHINA TRADE DEAL: Trump has signed off on a “phase one” trade deal with Beijing that stipulates China buy $200 billion worth of U.S. goods and services over the next two years — a total that would include the previous U.S. demand that China buy between $40 billion and $50 billion worth of American farm goods. It’s a tentative agreement that formalizes what Trump announced in October, and which the White House plans to formally announce later this afternoon, reports Pro Trade’s Adam Behsudi.
So far, details on the deal are scant. But we do know that it’s expected to contain some new provisions that could give a leg up to farmers after a particularly tough year. Those include China giving up restrictions on growth hormones for beef and easing an approval process for genetically modified crops. Before the tariff war, the value of U.S agricultural exports to China in 2017 reached almost $20 billion. In 2018, that number dipped to $9.3 billion.
The deal means that Trump won’t move forward with a round of 15 percent tariffs scheduled for Sunday that would target $160 billion worth of Chinese imports. He’s also expected to reduce duties on roughly $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, including many consumer items.
The Corn Refiners Association was quick to praise the news, calling it a “welcome sign of progress.”
FDA PINS POTENTIAL SOURCE OF SEPARATE E. COLI OUTBREAKS: The FDA announced Thursday that it identified a common romaine lettuce grower among three separate foodborne illness outbreaks caused by strains of E. coli O157:H7. The agency said it’s a “notable development” in its investigation with the CDC and state health officials to pinpoint the exact source of the contamination in Salinas, Calif., but cautioned that it’s still too early to “conclusively determine” whether other sources are involved.
Last month, the FDA issued a broad warning against eating romaine from the region, known as “America’s Salad Bowl.” The E. coli outbreak has sickened 102 people across 23 states. The agency also is tracking an outbreak linked to Fresh Express Sunflower Crisp Chopped Salad Kits, which has sickened eight people in three states, and another one in Washington state that sickened 13 people.
A persistent problem: These outbreaks come about a year after the CDC, in an unusually sweeping warning, told consumers not to eat romaine lettuce of any kind because of an E. coli outbreak that spanned several states in the U.S. and Canada. Federal agencies were able to trace the source to a farm in Santa Barbara County, which prompted a recall.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AVOIDED? Congressional leaders on Thursday announced they reached a spending “deal in principle” that will fund the government through the rest of fiscal 2020, Pro Budget’s Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes report. A House vote could come as early as Tuesday — both chambers will likely aim to pass all 12 appropriations bills in two big packages, or “minibuses.”
Much of the compromise is unknown, and staffers plan to work through the weekend to iron out remaining details. Within agriculture, the biggest conflict between the House and Senate measures concerns USDA’s controversial relocation of the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The House bill forbids the use of funds for relocating the two research agencies while the Senate measure sets aside $25 million dedicated to moving costs.
Trade Corner
SENATE REPUBLICANS LEFT GRUMBLING ABOUT USMCA: Some Senate Republicans are disgruntled about the final USMCA agreement worked out between the Trump administration and House Democrats, and they emerged grumbling from a meeting Thursday with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, POLITICO’s Marianne LeVine and Burgess Everett report. Conservative members are unhappy about what they claim is a too liberal version of NAFTA and feel left out of negotiations.
Sen. Pat Toomey, in particular, has a bone to pick with Trump officials. The Pennsylvania Republican described the deal as a "terrible new standard” for future trade agreements and has concerns with a key provision over prescription drugs. Sen. John Cornyn said he’s likely to support the agreement but expressed concern the Finance Committee had been “frozen out.”
C’est la vie: Still, it’s unlikely that Republican senators will abandon the deal en masse. GOP supporters are confident it will be approved, given that it just needs a simple majority to pass.
USCMA EXPECTED TO ZIP THROUGH CONGRESS: Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley does not plan to go through with the optional mock markup process, setting up a quick consideration of the agreement, his spokesperson said.
Row Crops
— The Senate on Thursday confirmed Stephen Hahn as head of the FDA. More on his background and policy goals from Pro Health Care’s Sarah Karlin-Smith. Aurelia Skipwith was also confirmed as director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.
— A federal judge blocked an Arkansas law preventing plant-based food from using labels identifying the products as meat like “burger” and “sausage.” The Arkansas Democrat Gazette has more.
— Natural and sustainable types of fertilizers are growing as consumers and companies are becoming more conscious about the impact of chemicals, Bloomberg reports.
"last" - Google News
December 13, 2019 at 10:00PM
https://ift.tt/35juraP
At last, a (limited) U.S.-China trade deal - Politico
"last" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rbmsh7
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment