Federal News
Major U.S. trade groups link up in anti-tariff coalition
CBS | Posted on September 20, 2018As the Trump administration readies major trade actions this month, including a potential $200 billion in new tariffs on imported Chinese goods, America's biggest trade associations -- representing a wide swath of industries -- have formed what they say will be a sweeping campaign against tariffs. Americans for Free Trade, a group of more than 80 associations, said it represents thousands of businesses and workers. It's joining with the already-formed Farmers for Free Trade in a campaign the groups are calling "Tariffs Hurt the Heartland." They plan events in Chicago, Nashville, Pennsylvania and Ohio starting next week, according to a statement posted on a new website."Every sector of the U.S. economy stands to lose in a trade war," Matthew Shay, who heads the National Retail Federation, said in the statement. "The stakes couldn't be higher for American families, businesses, farmers and workers threatened by job losses and higher prices as a result of tit-for-tat tariffs."The coalition posted a searchable map linking users to stories from farmers and businesses saying they're harmed by tariffs. The move comes just as Bloomberg reports the White House is proposing a new round of trade talks with China, after the previous four attempts faltered.
Fed survey finds concerns about rising trade tensions
AP | Posted on September 20, 2018The Federal Reserve reported that its latest survey of business conditions nationwide found rising concerns over the impact Trump administration trade policies could have on the economy. The Fed’s 12 regional banks said the economy is growing at a moderate pace although three districts — Philadelphia, St. Louis and Kansas City — depicted activity as somewhat below average.While businesses remained optimistic about near-term prospects, the Fed found worries about trade had prompted some businesses to scale back or postpone their capital investment plans. Higher tariffs stemming from President Donald Trump’s get-tough trade policies were reported to be pushing up input costs for some manufactured goods.The Fed survey reported that labor markets were tight throughout the country with construction workers, truck drivers, engineers and other high-skilled workers remaining in short-supply. But the report also found that a number of Fed districts were also seeing shortages of lower-skilled workers at restaurants, retail stores and other places as the country’s unemployment rate has fallen to 3.9 percent, its lowest point in nearly two decades.
CSP zeroed out in House Farm Bill
Daily Yonder | Posted on September 20, 2018The Conservation Stewardship Program provides a 4 to 1 return on investment. The House version of the farm bill would eliminate the program.Eliminating a USDA program that helps farmers increase yields while protecting the environment would cost taxpayers billions of dollars in economic and ecological benefits, according to a study by conservation-minded scientists. The Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which currently helps U.S. landowners manage 72 million acres of agricultural land, is zeroed out in the House version of the farm bill. The Senate version enacts reforms and small reductions in the program. CSP needs more, not less funding, advocates say. “It’s been a great tool for me,” said Aaron Johnson, a grain and cattle farmer from Madison, South Dakota. “I certainly appreciate the support I get from taxpayers to help make my farm a lot more environmentally friendly.”
UK to replace EU farm subsidies with 7-year transition scheme
Financial Times | Posted on September 19, 2018The UK government plans to introduce a seven-year transition period for farmers’ funding from 2021, during which direct payments from the state will be reduced and tied more closely to delivering environmental and other “public” goods. The Environmental Land Management scheme will replace EU basic farm payments, which are based on the amount of land farmed, under which farmers who provide the greatest environmental benefit will receive the largest amount of public money.
FDA Announces Fees for the Accredited Third-Party Certification Program
FDA | Posted on September 13, 2018The Food and Drug Administration is announcing the user fees for Fiscal Year 2019 for accreditation bodies seeking recognition, as well as annual fees for recognized accreditation bodies and accredited certification bodies participating in the Accredited Third-Party Certification Program. This voluntary program creates a framework for the accreditation of certification bodies that conduct food safety audits and issue certifications for foreign facilities and the foods they produce.In 2018, FDA has recognized four accreditation bodies, and most recently announced that Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety Inc. has become the first accredited certification body as part of this program
Tariffs will cost U.S. dairy farmers $1.5B this year
Capital Press | Posted on September 13, 2018A study by Informa Economics found retaliatory tariffs by China and Mexico will reduce U.S. dairy farmer revenue by $1.5 billion in 2018 and $3 billion in 2019 if they remain in place.While U.S. dairy producers appreciate USDA’s plan to purchase dairy products and increase funding to develop foreign markets in its tariff-mitigation strategy, they say the agency’s plan to distribute $127 million in direct payments to dairy producers falls far short of what’s needed.
Economists say ERS move penny-wise, dollar-foolish
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted on September 13, 2018The American Statistical Association and 41 other economic institutes have issued a statement saying USDA’s decision to move the Economic Research Service out of Washington, DC, will drive a brain drain from a vital research component in the nation's $1 trillion food, agriculture, and rural economy.
'Enough is enough': Canadian farmers say they will not accept dairy concessions in NAFTA talks
National Post | Posted on September 13, 2018It seems almost a given now that any trade deal Canada strikes with the United States will have to offer up more American access to the Canadian dairy market. But a leader of this country’s main milk-producing lobby group said Monday his industry has given enough in previous trade deals and will not tolerate more concessions.As the two nations’ chief negotiators prepared to resume their talks in Washington Tuesday, dairy producers suggest this deal is a line in the sand for them.“We’ve taken those hits for team Canada, and we are determined that there be no further concessions on dairy,” said David Wiens, vice president of the Dairy Farmers of Canada. “We have hit a wall on this where enough is enough.”
USDA, FDA to hold joint meeting on cell culture technology
Meat + Poultry | Posted on September 13, 2018The topic of cell culture technology and the products produced from it is a controversial one throughout the industry as well as in Washington. US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Sept. 10 announced a joint public meeting Oct. 23-24 to focus on the potential hazards, oversight considerations, and labeling of cell cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry. The public meeting will be held on Oct. 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Oct. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Jefferson Auditorium in the USDA South Building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC, 20250.“This is an important opportunity to hear from the agricultural industry and consumers as we consider the regulatory framework for these new products,” Perdue said. “American farmers and ranchers feed the world, but as technology advances, we must consider how to inspect and regulate to ensure food safety, regardless of the production method.”
Detention of Migrant Children Has Skyrocketed to Highest Levels Ever
The New York Times | Posted on September 13, 2018Even though hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released under court order, the overall number of detained migrant children has exploded to the highest ever recorded — a significant counternarrative to the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the number of undocumented families coming to the United States.Population levels at federally contracted shelters for migrant children have quietly shot up more than fivefold since last summer, according to data obtained by The New York Times, reaching a total of 12,800 this month. There were 2,400 such children in custody in May 2017.The huge increases, which have placed the federal shelter system near capacity, are due not to an influx of children entering the country, but a reduction in the number being released to live with families and other sponsors, the data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services suggests. Some of those who work in the migrant shelter network say the bottleneck is straining both the children and the system that cares for them.