Trump Delays Higher Chinese Tariffs – September 12, 2019

In goodwill gesture, Trump delays higher Chinese tariffs for two weeks

 

Hours after complimenting China for waiving tariffs on some U.S. products, President Trump announced on Wednesday a two-week delay, until Oct. 15, of higher tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese-made goods. On social media, Trump called the delay “a gesture of good will.

 

One in four members on Trump ag panel got trade war money

Heading into the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Donald Trump formed a 64-member Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee. On Wednesday, the Environmental Working Group reported that 15 members of that committee have received a combined $2.2 million in Trump tariff payments.

 

New research says seafood is a major source of plastic in U.S. diet

Alarming new research suggests that, contrary to what scientists have long believed, tiny plastic particles consumed by fish and other seafood do not stay in the animals’ digestive tracts but rather seep into their flesh, as Liza Gross reports in the latest story, published with Mother Jones. And that means those plastic particles also seep into the diet of people who eat seafood.

TODAY’S QUICK HITS

Florida votes against USMCA (The Hagstrom Report): Florida, where produce growers want more protection against Mexican imports, was the only state to vote against a resolution supporting the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the annual meeting of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.

White House wants biofuel deal this week (Reuters): Trump administration officials, urging biofuel producers to accept a 1 billion-gallon increase in the Renewable Fuel Standard, said a deal must be agreed to by Friday to resolve Farm Belt complaints that the EPA is exempting too many refineries from the ethanol mandate.

Few benefits from neonicotinoid seed treatments (Nature): Farmers and regulators should re-evaluate the widespread use of nicotinoid-coated oilseed and grain seeds because they have a minimal effect on yields, says a study by university scientists.

Ethanol is fastest-growing ag export (U.S. Grains Council): Exports of U.S. ethanol grew at an average of 18 percent a year over five years to reach a record 1.62 billion gallons in 2018, making non-beverage ethanol the highest-growth ag export, says a Grains Council analysis.

Bees deliver a pesticide (Modern Farmer): A Canadian company, Bee Vectoring Technologies, says it has won EPA approval of a fungus-based pesticide that would be delivered by bumblebees during their pollen-gathering flights among blossoming plants.

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