U.S. vote on the new NAFTA could slip to late 2020, says Grassley
The Sino-U.S.trade war has pushed the new NAFTA, a pact between Canada, Mexico and the United States, into the shadows on Capitol Hill.
Sec. Perdue is open to carbon markets for farmers, Pingree says
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue expressed support for carbon markets for farmers during a meeting, Rep. Chellie Pingree said on Monday. An upcoming agriculture appropriations bill will likely include language that urges USDA to research the possibility of such markets, added the Maine Democrat, speaking at a Food and Environment Reporting Network event.
Three USDA nominations advance to Senate floor
On a voice vote, the Senate Agriculture Committee cleared for a floor vote three administration nominations for senior posts at USDA. It was the second time in five months the committee approved the nominations.
TODAY’S QUICK HITS
Another blow to Bayer (Wall Street Journal): A jury awarded an elderly couple $2 billion in their litigation against Monsanto. The couple alleged that years of applying the weedkiller Roundup had caused them both to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Delivery wars continue (CNBC): Walmart is rolling out next-day delivery in an effort to compete with Amazon. The company says it will deliver overnight to 75 percent of customers by the end of 2019.
Soda tax slashes sugary beverage sales in Philadelphia (philly.com): The city’s 1.5-cent-an-ounce tax on soda and sweetened beverages led to an overall 38-percent reduction in soda sales in Philadelphia, according to research published a week before primary elections in which Mayor Jim Kenney faces two Democratic challengers who oppose the levy.
Beetles vs. grizzlies (InsideClimate News): Pine beetles are destroying the forests of Yellowstone National Park and prompting grizzly bears to roam out of the park, where almost 250 of them have been killed in the past four years because of the threat they pose to people or livestock.
Fishery consolidation brings vulnerability (SeafoodSource): There are fewer commercial fishermen in Alaska than three decades ago and they are specializing more and more on what they catch, leaving them more vulnerable to environmental, political and economic pressures.
