Donald Trump

President Donald Trump called Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, a “great friend” as tensions rise amidst the NAFTA negotiations this week.  However, as Bloomberg reports, Trump showed no signs of retreat regarding NAFTA, saying “It’s possible we won’t be able to make a deal and it’s possible we will.”   Farm and industry groups were raising ala...

President Trump is once again threatening to tear up NAFTA.  Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue spoke with the president this week about the merits of the trade deal.  Bloomberg said Perdue is working to convince Trump that NAFTA has been a boon to agriculture.  Perdue ...

A coalition of agriculture groups is urging President Donald Trump and federal lawmakers to protect crop insurance.     Sixty national farm, lending, ag input, conservation and crop insurance organizations, led by the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau, sent a letter to the administration and lawmakers opposing cuts to crop insurance during the upcoming budget and appropriations processes and i

The Governors’ Biofuels Coalition is asking President Trump to support several changes to federal law to support biofuels production.  A letter signed by coalition chairman, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, asked the Trump Administration to change the fuel volatility limitations placed on E15 in current law.   F...

The Trump administration is expected to make an announcement soon regarding taxes and possible reforms.  While little details were available, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer last week said the administration would make a tax-related announcement this month.  ...

A leader involved in the Trump Transition team says to expect budget and employment cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.   Myron Ebell was the former head of President Donald Trump’s EPA transition team and has suggested cutting the EPA workforce to 5,000, about a two-thirds reduction over the next four years.He says the EPA’s $8...

President Donald Trump’s plan to implement a 20% tax on all goods imported from Mexico would likely harm agriculture and consumers alike.  The tax is seen as a way to pay for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, estimated to be worth billions of dollars.The tax wo...

The Washington Council on International Trade reacted with disappointment this week at the news the United States had withdrawn from TPP.  WCIT President Lori Otto Punke said while they are disappointed they hope to find a way to move forward.  ...

An internal email sent to the Agricultural Research Service allegedly directs the department not to release any public facing documents, but the Department of Agriculture says the email “was flawed” and that new guidance would be issued to replace it.   Ac...

The Trump administration has ordered a freeze on grants and contracts from the Environmental Protection Agency and ordered EPA staff to halt external communications.  A memo to EPA staff instructs the employees not to publish press releases, blog messages or social media postings.  Th...